Josiah Deguara’s role with Packers continues to shrink
By Paul Bretl
There are a lot of things about this 2022 Green Bay Packers season that hasn’t played out how I originally expected. One of the less-talked-about items is the playing time for Josiah Deguara.
After suffering an ACL injury early on in 2020, last season was essentially Deguara’s rookie season from a playing time perspective. There were times when we saw him getting chewed out by Aaron Rodgers, whether that be for dropping a pass, running the wrong route, or not being aligned correctly, but when thrust into a larger role following Robert Tonyan’s injury, we saw Deguara making strides as the year went on.
From Weeks 11 through 15 of last season, Deguara took more slot snaps and caught 10 of 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. He also displayed some playmaking abilities with the ball in his hands, ranking 13th in total yards after the catch (YAC) among tight ends during that span, along with being sixth in average YAC, according to PFF ($$).
This year, however, Deguara hasn’t seen much playing time. And considering that Tonyan is back, a decrease in snaps isn’t surprising, but him being on the field for only 15% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps and behind Tyler Davis is.
In five of the Packers’ seven games this season, Deguara has been on the field for fewer than 10 snaps. In his limited playing time, Deguara has caught five of six passes at 11.2 yards per catch.
As an H-back more so than a tight end, Deguara brings a different skill set to this offense than Tonyan, Davis, and Marcedes Lewis. Green Bay is able to line him up all over the formation, including in the backfield, send him in motion, and he’s someone who can affect the run game as a blocker, along with the passing game.
A staple of the LaFleur offense is achieving what Matt calls the “illusion of complexity,” which essentially means keeping the defense off balance, whether that be through running the same play from a variety of personnel or different plays that look alike initially.
Either way, a player like Deguara can help accomplish that with his versatility. There’s a reason following Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft, LaFleur told reporters, “I love Josiah.”
As far as why Deguara hasn’t seen more playing time in Year 3 with the Packers, well, that’s the million-dollar question.
It’s very common for tight ends to take two or even three years to fully develop in the NFL, given the complexity of their role. Tight ends essentially have to know the entire offense, as they are expected to block like linemen and make plays like receivers. So the fact that Deguara hasn’t broken out yet isn’t an oddity–it’s actually more common than not.
Perhaps those past issues still plague him in practice, and the trust with Aaron Rodgers and LaFleur just isn’t there. Or maybe he’s not as good of a blocker as Davis, which is why he has earned more playing time. Or, for some reason, perhaps this role has simply been reduced.
Not that Deguara is San Francisco’s Kyle Jusczyk, but many anticipated him filling that very important do-it-all role in LaFleur’s system. However, that hasn’t been the case whatsoever.
With that said, for an offense struggling to find its way, why not try something different? And by different, I mean utilizing a key position within this scheme.