The Green Bay Packers have a few questions remaining on their depth chart in the passing game before Sunday’s season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Wide receiver Allen Lazard’s status is unclear after being stepped on. Christian Watson may or may not be acclimated enough to play his first live snap in a real game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has his work cut out for him.
The Packers were already coming up with a way to scheme around the wide receiver depth before Lazard’s injury. With the departure of Davante Adams this offseason, Lazard was considered the Packers’ number one receiving option. Rodgers might have an idea already about who his next option is.
According to Bill Huber with Sports Illustrated, Rodgers mentioned tight end Robert Tonyan as a player to get going in the team’s passing scheme this season:
“He looks great,” Rodgers said of Tonyan, who missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL. “He’s really gifted. He has great hands. He’s a really intuitive route runner. He’s got great instincts. He’s made a couple plays in practice that [are] just different than what we’ve had from those other guys in his absence, and it’s no disrespect to those guys. It’s just that the level that he’s capable of playing at is at that Pro Bowl caliber level, so we’ve got to get him feeling healthy and playing like he was playing a couple years ago and get him going early.”
Tonyan could be an elite presence on the Packers offense in 2022
Tonyan’s injury damaged a decent season for him. His stats in 2020 were elite, as the tight end caught 11 touchdowns for the Packers. The fifth-year veteran is the perfect option for a team figuring out what to do with a young wide receiver corps. Toynan had been trending upwards each season before the injury last year. We may see him continue to get better in 2022.
Aaron Rodgers and the offense will score points in Minnesota
It’s speculation, but it's assumed Lazard and Watson will be able to play Sunday. Even so, the Packers need to come up with options that don’t rely on the wide receivers being a massive part of their game. Fortunately for the offense, the team is loaded with talent at running back. Running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillion are considered among the best backfields in the NFL.
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