Green Bay Packers: A desperately needed playmaker returns
The Green Bay Packers could be getting a huge boost from a 2019 draft pick.
The Green Bays Packers curiously let the entire 2020 NFL Draft pass without selecting a single wide receiver. Considering the depth of this wide receiver class, that was more than a little surprising.
The Packers’ decision to use their top two picks on a future Aaron Rodgers replacement in Jordan Love and a running back in AJ Dillon made their approach to the 2020 NFL Draft all the more curious.
Now, the Packers have apparently put a muzzle on media reports coming out of training camp.
Packers just updated their coverage guidelines for the media. We are now not allowed to mention who is getting reps with the first team, second team, third team etc., or who is being used in certain packages or if players are rotating among positions. Brave new world.
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) August 19, 2020
Things have been bizarre for the Packers this offseason, but their offense got a significant boost with the return of tight end Jace Sternberger, a third-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft who was a beast in his final year at Texas A&M with 10 touchdown catches.
Though he was limited to just six regular-season games and 60 offensive snaps, Sternberger’s role increased for the Packers in the 2019 postseason and he caught his first NFL touchdown in the NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Sternberger was recently activated off the COVID/reserve list for the Packers and his presence on the roster has flown under-the-radar from a national perspective because of the fact he was so limited in his rookie season.
Hopefully for Green Bay’s sake, Sternberger can become the kind of threat he was at Texas A&M in a hurry.
This is a Green Bay receiver crop banking on a lot of Aaron Rodgers elevating talent, which he is certainly capable of, but it’s certainly not ideal when the team was capable of adding talent all offseason.
Even with Josiah Deguara coming in as a fellow third-round pick for the Packers as a hybrid fullback/tight end type of player, Sternberger can seize the TE1 role if he can start making plays in camp and building off of his 2019 playoff finish.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said that the team is ‘counting on‘ Sternberger to play a bigger role in 2020, especially after the team released veteran Jimmy Graham who signed with the division-rival Bears.
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The opportunities will be there for Sternberger to seize a massive role in the Green Bay Packers offense as a second-year player.