It was Thursday, April 26, 2018. Commissioner Roger Goodell called the 83rd annual NFL draft to order at AT&T stadium in Arlington Texas. Watching from his home in Urbandale, Iowa, Allen Lazard found it hard to contain his excitement. The six foot -four receiver had just finished up a historic career at Iowa State, virtually rewriting the school record book. He had amassed 3,360 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. He was named first team all Big Twelve after both his junior and senior seasons. He was invited to play at the Senior Bowl. Draft gurus were projecting him as a mid round prospect, but Lazard had hopes of some team sneaking him into the second or third round.
As day one of the draft progressed, just two receivers went in the first round. Carolina had taken DJ Moore at 24, and the Falcons followed by selecting Calvin Ridley with the 26th pick. Six more got the call in round two, guys like Courtland Sutton and Dante Pettis and DJ Chark. By round three, Lazard’s hope of being drafted higher than expectations were crushed, as just two additional pass catchers were picked, Michael Gallup and Tre’Quan Smith.
But that would be just the beginning of his disappointment. Day three arrived. The fourth round unfolded. Then the fifth, the sixth and seventh. Lazard watched incredulously. The phone never rang. His name was never called from the podium. Much to his shock and amazement, he had gone undrafted. He was far from the only one surprised at the slight. The entire Big Twelve conference took it as a slap in the face. Pete Mundo, a Big Twelve beat reporter, wrote “Allen Lazard will be the biggest steal of any free agent signing in the 2018 NFL Draft process.” Andrew Miller echoed the sentiment in an article for Fansided that was headlined “Allen Lazard One of the Most Surprising Misses in 2018 Draft”. Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register wrote: “It seemed so likely that Lazard was going to become Iowa State’s first draft pick since 2014, that he held a draft party not far from Jack Trice Stadium. More than 150 of his family, friends and coaches were at the restaurant to watch it unfold. A bottle of champagne with two balloons tied to it sat at the start of a receiving line for food. One of the balloons was an Iowa State football. The other read, “Congratulations.”
How could this happen? An article in WalterFootball.com suggested pro scouts had doubts about Lazard’s speed. At the combine he had run a 4.55 in the forty. It was also written that the Iowa native dropped several throws at his workouts at the Senior Bowl. Lance Zierlein of nfl.com wrote “Lazard is a possession receiver, but his lack of play speed and athletic ability could make separating from NFL cornerbacks a difficult challenge.”
Still, 29 receivers taken in the 2018 draft and Lazard was not among them? Unthinkable to observers who had watched him play throughout his college career.
Stung by the lack of attention, Lazard signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he would endure another snub. Despite being on a team that finished 5-11 and last in the AFC South, a team whose best receivers were Dede Westbrook, Donte Moncrief and Keelan Cole, Lazard languished on the practice squad, never given an opportunity to suit up during a game.
They say good things happen if you just keep working hard. You never know when destiny may call. For Allen Lazard, the event that would alter the course of his career took place on a cold day at Soldier Field in Chicago on December 16 of that year. Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones injured his knee in a 24-17 loss to the Bears. Two days later, the Packers placed Jones on injured reserve, which opened up a spot on the roster. As they have done so often in the recent past, the Green Bay scouting department combed the league and identified an obscure player on another team’s practice squad and decided to give him a shot.
It’s a long way from Jacksonville, Florida to Green Bay, Wisconsin. 1,267 miles to be exact. On December 18, 2018, Lazard made the journey. It was a start. Now he was on a game day roster. Now he could actually suit up. It would change his life.
Wearing “lucky” number 13, Lazard would catch just one pass for seven yards that season. But his work ethic, attitude and willingness to do the dirty work caught the eye of the team’s future Hall of Fame quarterback. Aaron Rodgers immediately saw something in the young Iowan that all of the NFL scouts missed on draft night. Predicting greatness for him, Rodgers targeted Lazard 52 times in 2019, and was pleased with the results, as were his coaches. Lazard’s numbers dipped in 2020 after he missed six games, but last year he registered career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns, despite playing a distant second fiddle to Davante Adams.
Which brings us to now. As he works his way through this training camp, Lazard is profoundly aware of how the stars have aligned for him to become a bona fide number one receiver on a Super Bowl contending team.. Adams is gone, traded away. Randall Cobb is aging and nearing the end. Sammy Watkins is new and oft injured. A gaggle of rookies are talented but lacking in experience. The star quarterback is still there. Lazard will be a free agent after the season, so a big year would net him a huge contract.
This is his time. Somehow, some way, he knew it would come. “Since I was 16 years old, when I committed to Iowa State, this is the vision I saw, this is the vision I had” Lazard told Jason Wilde of Madison.com. “I want to go out there and prove to everyone what my value is and what my worth should be.”
You think Aaron Rodgers plays with a chip on his shoulder because of his first round fall in the draft? How about the grudge you carry when you fall out of the draft entirely? That’s why Allen Lazard wants it badly. Everybody passed on him back in 2018. Now he has the chance to make them regret it..
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Ken Lass is a former Green Bay television sports anchor and 43 year media veteran, a lifelong Packers fan, and a shareholder.