Let's Talk About Our Receiving Corps

El Guapo

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Looking into the future, it seems that our primary WRs will be Jordy Nelson, James Jones, and Randall Cobb. Driver retired and Jennings will likely leave in free agency, leaving UFDAs Jarrett Boykin and Jeremy Ross competing for the 4th & 5th receiver spots with whomever TT drafts or brings into camp.

At tight end we've got Finley under contract for one more season. In addition we've got Andrew Quarless, DJ Williams, Ryan Taylor, Tom Crabtree, and Brandon Bostick all on the roster. Six TEs seems excessive to me. I assume that we will shed at least one of them in the offseason (talk of Finley due to his $8M cap) and another during camp.

After laying all of that out, I feel fine - not happy but fine - with losing Driver and Jennings in free agency. Jordy, Jones, and Cobb are still a top receiving corps and I'm excited about Boykin. I don't see a stronger need to get another WR versus other positions (defense, OL, RB, etc). Even if we let Finley go, I think that one of the trio of Quarless/Williams/Taylor can step forward into a solid TE role. More importantly, I think that one of those guys could upgrade our run offense with solid blocking from that position.

I'm also excited to see what James Jones will do as a featured WR for the entire season. I think that Rodgers still has A LOT of great receiving targets/threats on the team. Thoughts about the Packers receiving corps in 2013 and beyond?
 

ivo610

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I think it's important to go back to the well for talent. TT should continue his formula of 2nd round wr steals if he sees something great.
 

Oshkoshpackfan

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please enlighten me as to why some/most folks are thrilled about Boykin? I just didn't see much out of him on the snaps he played. Granted he was not targeted much, but that could be due to the fact that when I watched him and specifically just him, he seemed to have a hard time getting seperation and looked as if he didn't remember the route. Maybe it's just me, but I don't have a good feeling about that kid.

Jordy, JJ, Cobb are a killer trio, but we need a tall (6'4"+) guy who is not only tall, but strong and speedy. I think we may need a megatron type guy who can dominate a defense and will require a double coverage which will in turn free up the other guys. We just need a beast mode WR, one who can't get manhandled easily.

We could use : Marcus Davis, WR, Virginia Tech
Height: 6-4. Weight: 232.


That height and weight combo along with his prjected speed (4.4 40yd dash) is a leathal force.
 

ivo610

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please enlighten me as to why some/most folks are thrilled about Boykin? I just didn't see much out of him on the snaps he played. Granted he was not targeted much, but that could be due to the fact that when I watched him and specifically just him, he seemed to have a hard time getting seperation and looked as if he didn't remember the route. Maybe it's just me, but I don't have a good feeling about that kid.

Jordy, JJ, Cobb are a killer trio, but we need a tall (6'4"+) guy who is not only tall, but strong and speedy. I think we may need a megatron type guy who can dominate a defense and will require a double coverage which will in turn free up the other guys. We just need a beast mode WR, one who can't get manhandled easily.

We could use : Marcus Davis, WR, Virginia Tech
Height: 6-4. Weight: 232.

That height and weight combo along with his prjected speed (4.4 40yd dash) is a leathal force.

I think the 6'3 guy on our team is under appreciated.
 

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I expect TT will continue to draft WR's and TE's - especially if Finley is also cut. You can never have too many weapons on this offense. The crop of WR's in this draft class doesn't seem anything special, but still deep - if that makes sense. The TE's have some good options too. I'd like a TE that is as much a blocking threat as a receiving threat. There is a guy compared to Witten that might be available in round 2 or 3 that would be a good target - Vance McDonald (I think is his name).

I agree that we cannot rely upon Boykins and Ross as our WR4/5 heading into next season. Too much uncertainty and with how important our passing game is, we need more talent.
 

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Except for one extremely ill-timed fumble I really liked what I saw of Ross as returner and I'd like him to take over both return jobs to free up Cobb for offensive snaps only. But Ross and Boykin as WRs are still just potential contributors IMO. It's fine that the staff appears to be high on them but we should keep in mind they were high on Gurley and Borel too. You don't have to be from Missouri to insist the youngsters 'show us'.

As much as I admire all that Driver contributed to the franchise over the course of his career, I don't include him as a missing piece at WR. IMO he was "missing" for the 2012 season too. So the only significant loss at WR I see is Jennings and in addition to his production, Jennings did draw double teams. So I agree it makes sense for Thompson to acquire another WR.

I'm for acquiring another TE but only if it's likely he'll excel in the passing game. And if Finley isn't coming back and if they don't find a TE in the draft there's a chance DJ Williams will continue to get better in the passing game and a chance Quarless comes back healthy, but neither should be counted upon. So if Finley is waived, I'll bet Thompson will pull the trigger on either a WR or a TE before the fourth round.
 

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I just read Peter King's most recent article, talking about how this free agency will be quieter than years past. He specifically mentioned that Jennings is likely to be disappointed. If that's the case - i.e. he seeks X amount, but all teams are offering a much lower amount - what are the chances TT sneaks back in there and gets him for a much more reasonable amount, a la JJ two years ago?

I haven't heard much discussion about this possibility. Maybe TT has essentially already moved on from Jennings - after all, he's an older WR that has had two injury-riddled seasons. But, he's obviously a great talent that has a good rapport with Rodgers, despite what his sister thinks.
 

Oshkoshpackfan

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I just read Peter King's most recent article, talking about how this free agency will be quieter than years past. He specifically mentioned that Jennings is likely to be disappointed. If that's the case - i.e. he seeks X amount, but all teams are offering a much lower amount - what are the chances TT sneaks back in there and gets him for a much more reasonable amount, a la JJ two years ago?

I haven't heard much discussion about this possibility. Maybe TT has essentially already moved on from Jennings - after all, he's an older WR that has had two injury-riddled seasons. But, he's obviously a great talent that has a good rapport with Rodgers, despite what his sister thinks.

If he does not burn his bridges, yes. Then again there teams out there that need help, BIG TIME, at the WR spot. The teams may not be contenders, but I bet he is looking for the payday.
 

13 Times Champs

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Our receiving corps is better than at least 75 % of other teams as it now stands. On another note I just don't see the promise in Williams some do. He's undersized for the position and hasn't shown much.
 
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HardRightEdge

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2009 was Driver's last season as an impact player. He's not a factor in this discussion.

Jennings has been most effective as a slot receiver; so too for Cobb. This makes Jennings redundant in 3-wide. I cannot say I saw a discernible difference in this offense with Jennings vs. Cobb as a featured receiver this past season, and Cobb still has upside in his route running.

While it would be nice to be 4 deep at WR for injury depth and the occasional 4-WR set, the cap cost for the 4th. man is prohibitive, even at a home town discount. Miami is about $42 mil under the cap according to sportrac...the chatter is not just about the coach, South Beach and sunshine.

The bigger issue...can we/will we keep Finley. The guys behind him have some virtues, but in the great scheme of things they are "just guys". You might get to "marginally adequate" out of the committee.
 

DevilDon

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No chance Jennings is back. There is no way the Packers can match what Miami will offer.
It doesn't matter whether we think Boykin will be productive, regardless of what the staff thinks...
The Packers will draft a WR if a steal like Cobb falls to them on the second day.
 

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I see some people talking about the TE situation. Cutting or retaining Finley and what not. I am a big fan of Tom Crabtree. Last season was his breakout season, but before that he was pretty solid. I think that we saw how he can be utilized int he Houston AND Arizona games this year. Both big-gainer TD plays where he was just simply unaccounted for. You won't see Finley unaccounted for like that.

As far as drafting a WR, I am fine with it IF we can fill our OL/DB/DL needs first.

Side note: What about Wes Welker? It surprises me that I am even bringing that up, because I HATE the Patriots but he can't be overlooked. There is the chance that he won't fit into our offense the way he fit into NEs offense but if the price is right, I say go for it.
 

rodell330

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I see some people talking about the TE situation. Cutting or retaining Finley and what not. I am a big fan of Tom Crabtree. Last season was his breakout season, but before that he was pretty solid. I think that we saw how he can be utilized int he Houston AND Arizona games this year. Both big-gainer TD plays where he was just simply unaccounted for. You won't see Finley unaccounted for like that.

As far as drafting a WR, I am fine with it IF we can fill our OL/DB/DL needs first.

Side note: What about Wes Welker? It surprises me that I am even bringing that up, because I HATE the Patriots but he can't be overlooked. There is the chance that he won't fit into our offense the way he fit into NEs offense but if the price is right, I say go for it.


No way on Welker. If we can't afford to keep Jennings then no way on Welker. I'd like to give ross a chnace at the #4 wr because of his size and speed. I'm for sure a Wr willbe drafted in the early rounds tho. Maybe the 3rd or 4th.
 

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I see some people talking about the TE situation. Cutting or retaining Finley and what not. I am a big fan of Tom Crabtree. Last season was his breakout season, but before that he was pretty solid. I think that we saw how he can be utilized int he Houston AND Arizona games this year. Both big-gainer TD plays where he was just simply unaccounted for. You won't see Finley unaccounted for like that.

The reason he was unaccounted for is because he is Tom Crabtree. Teams don't worry about him because he's a ST player that occasionally plays a few snaps on offense. There is nothing dynamic about Crabtree's game. He's a guy. He's not an every down TE to rely upon in this up-tempo passing game.
 

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All of the TEs other than Finley are no more than backup quality. There are a lot of potential 3rd and 4th round picks who could do a better job than Finley. A reliable 6'6"+ guy that Rodgers can hit as a possession receiver and who can block would really help. As for our Wideouts, I will probably get fried for saying this, but IMO all of them seem a lot better than they are because of Aaron Rodgers. Just the same, I wouldn't use a first day draft pick for one. Ross and maybe Boykin plus whatever else TT can bring in with late picks and street FAs should suffice.
 
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El Guapo

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As for Boykin, people were fond of him because of how he stood out in camp and pre-season. The limited exposure that he got this season was specifically just to get him exposure to the game. He's no Megatron for sure, but some folks have compared his potential to that of Driver. It may take a few years for him to similarly blossom. Of course, 75% of football fans are too impatient to wait for developing players. Those are typically the same fans that are big proponents of free agency. I suspect they all have ADHD as well.

I won't contradict BorderRivals assessment of Crabtree because I think that it is accurate for the most part. He really needs to improve his receiving skills if he wants to truly have a breakout season and succeed on this team. However, he is a tenacious blocker which is something our team sorely lacks at the TE position. He does have redeeming qualities but is far from starting material unless GB turns into a run-first offensive team.
 

FrankRizzo

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Except for one extremely ill-timed fumble I really liked what I saw of Ross as returner and I'd like him to take over both return jobs to free up Cobb for offensive snaps only. But Ross and Boykin as WRs are still just potential contributors IMO.
Yes I agree, also like Ross a lot.
And as far as POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTOR goes.... that's true of 100% of the WR's who will be taken in the draft in April as well.
At least we've seen some good stuff from Boykin and Ross.
And more importantly, our coaches have seen it day-in, day-out in practice.
 

13 Times Champs

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The reason he was unaccounted for is because he is Tom Crabtree. Teams don't worry about him because he's a ST player that occasionally plays a few snaps on offense. There is nothing dynamic about Crabtree's game. He's a guy. He's not an every down TE to rely upon in this up-tempo passing game.

Exacto mundo.
 

adambr2

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No chance Jennings is back. There is no way the Packers can match what Miami will offer.
It doesn't matter whether we think Boykin will be productive, regardless of what the staff thinks...
The Packers will draft a WR if a steal like Cobb falls to them on the second day.

We don't even know if Miami is interested in Jennings. Almost all talk of Jennings going to Miami has been nothing but pure speculation/fan talk.

I'll concede that there's a good chance someone will overpay for Jennings, and it could be Miami, but for now, we don't even know if he's on their FA radar.
 

HyponGrey

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please enlighten me as to why some/most folks are thrilled about Boykin? I just didn't see much out of him on the snaps he played. Granted he was not targeted much, but that could be due to the fact that when I watched him and specifically just him, he seemed to have a hard time getting seperation and looked as if he didn't remember the route. Maybe it's just me, but I don't have a good feeling about that kid.

Jordy, JJ, Cobb are a killer trio, but we need a tall (6'4"+) guy who is not only tall, but strong and speedy. I think we may need a megatron type guy who can dominate a defense and will require a double coverage which will in turn free up the other guys. We just need a beast mode WR, one who can't get manhandled easily.

We could use : Marcus Davis, WR, Virginia Tech
Height: 6-4. Weight: 232.

That height and weight combo along with his prjected speed (4.4 40yd dash) is a leathal force.
Davis doesn't RAC, and Finley is a better blocker:
http://deadspin.com/5959914/virginia-tech-receiver-marcus-davis-doesnt-feel-like-blocking-ever

Davis doesn't fit our offense.
 

Oshkoshpackfan

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Davis doesn't RAC, and Finley is a better blocker:
http://deadspin.com/5959914/virginia-tech-receiver-marcus-davis-doesnt-feel-like-blocking-ever

Davis doesn't fit our offense.

Ummmm......finley is a TE, Davis is a WR.....Apples to Oranges my friend.
And if you didn't notice or have not heard, FINLEY SUCKS BALLS at blocking.....hell, Crabtree is 5 times better at blocking than dumb finley is.

How does Davis not fit a pass oriented offense???? lol.....WTF???
The guy is young, 6'4" tall, fast, and has good hands......what about that does not fit???
And being in the location I am, I have had PLENTY of TV time watching virginia tech play ball.....that guy is money.
 
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El Guapo

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I don't know much about Davis, but would agree that his measurables sound intriguing. His blocking ability would the biggest thing for me. We have no problem throwing the ball all over the field so a tight end that has both abilities or more to the blocking side seems to fit our needs the best
 

Oshkoshpackfan

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The reason I am saying we go for a big guy/big time WR is: we lost jenning for sure, we tend to have injury issues on all aspects of offense so why not have a threat as a back up or even a starter, the bears have marshall and jeffries as big targets, and we all know about the lions. These type of guys are the ones that DB's have a nightmare time trying to cover.....so......why not give Arod that type of target as well? Yes, yes yes, we have cobb who is a beast and JJ and nelson......but with our luck one of them is bound to get hurt and have good insurance pays off.

I say we draft a big time WR, why not? TT has pretty darn good luck spotting damn good WR's.
and maybe,just maybe finleys head has popped out of his *** from the way he played near the end of the season and the ridicule that he got may have finally made him play up to the level we all saw in 2010. Keep finley for one more year, if he sucks again...at least we have someone to bit*h about...lol
 

texaspackerbacker

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Ummmm......finley is a TE, Davis is a WR.....Apples to Oranges my friend.
And if you didn't notice or have not heard, FINLEY SUCKS BALLS at blocking.....hell, Crabtree is 5 times better at blocking than dumb finley is.

How does Davis not fit a pass oriented offense???? lol.....WTF???
The guy is young, 6'4" tall, fast, and has good hands......what about that does not fit???
And being in the location I am, I have had PLENTY of TV time watching virginia tech play ball.....that guy is money.

Correct all around. Just the same, I doubt we take Davis or any other big time wideout the first day of the draft - just too many other needs. Trust TT (yeah, you heard me right hahaha) to bring in somebody similar to Davis in size and speed etc. in the 6th or 7th round or as a street free agent; And trust Aaron Rodgers to make that guy look like a superstar.
 

DevilDon

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We don't even know if Miami is interested in Jennings. Almost all talk of Jennings going to Miami has been nothing but pure speculation/fan talk.

I'll concede that there's a good chance someone will overpay for Jennings, and it could be Miami, but for now, we don't even know if he's on their FA radar.
WE don't know if Miami is interested? How in the world can you post that? Of course they are. They need a $1 WR and Jenning is one of those.
Of COURSE it's all speculation at this point but do you for one second think that Joe Philbin isn't thinking about Jennings?
You don't have to be a GM or otherwise to recognize that it's obvious Miami has it's eye on him. Do YOU work for an NFL team to tell me otherwise? Didn't think so, so I'll speculate away if it's okay with you adambr.
 

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