Without Cobb or Tonyan, Allen Lazard Fills Needed Roles & Shines

Although this Packers offense primarily runs through Davante Adams and the running backs, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, Green Bay is at their best when they have other contributors. Unfortunately, among the numerous injuries the Packers sustained this season, Green Bay has had to navigate a good chunk of the season without Randall Cobb or Robert Tonyan. 

 

When on the field, Cobb wasn’t targeted heavily for the most part, but he was a trusted pass-catcher who made his biggest impact in high-leverage situations, such as on third downs and in the red zone. With Tonyan, while he wasn’t producing the same numbers that he did a season ago, he still had three games with at least 49 receiving yards, and he was always a threat in the red zone. 

 

However, one big theme for the Green Bay Packers and a big reason that they were successful this season despite the injuries, is that when someone went down, someone else oftentimes stepped up–and in this case, that player was Allen Lazard.

 

From a pure numbers standpoint, Lazard has been on fire since the bye week. Over the last five games, he has been targeted 28 times, catching 21 of those passes for 290 yards, or nearly 14 yards per catch, and five touchdowns. But in addition to the gaudy numbers he’s put up, Lazard’s role within the offense has helped mitigate the absences of Cobb and Tonyan.

 

Since Cobb’s injury, Lazard has averaged about five more snaps per game from the slot, according to PFF–and in several instances, he has been Aaron Rodgers’ go-to target on third downs. On third or fourth downs this season, Lazard has 14 receptions on 22 targets, with 13 of those receptions going for first downs. In the red zone, he has six receptions, but five have gone for touchdowns. 

 

We’ve also seen Lazard asked to take on Tonyan’s role in the passing game at times, finding a lot of success over the middle of the field, including running a leak on his touchdown catch vs. Detroit, a play typically drawn up for a tight end. Between the numbers this season on non-downfield targets, Lazard has 20 receptions on 26 targets for 230 yards and three touchdowns. 

The Packers have used Allen Lazard like a TE all over their offense. Here he’s running Leak which is a staple Shanahan-tree concept GB hasn’t really run. Usually for a TE. pic.twitter.com/7hCRsSbNAf

— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) January 12, 2022

 

Lazard even has a few snaps per game where he is lined up in-line like a tight end, and of course, he is still one of the best blocking receivers in the game. 

 

“Since maybe the Rams game, he’s played a number of really good games. Made contested catches, big plays down the field. He does all the dirty work, so getting him the ball is awesome,” Aaron Rodgers said via Packers Wire. “He’s been making plays down the field, which is great.”

 

As a whole, the Green Bay Packers’ offense, as well as Aaron Rodgers, really began to click over the final stretch of the season. Of course, there are many reasons for this, not only Lazard’s play, but I also don’t believe it’s a coincidence that his emergence coincides with this unit taking off. Over Rodgers’ final seven games, he completed 72 percent of his passes, along with 20 touchdowns, and he posted a passer rating of 124.4.

 

For a Green Bay Packers team that has often been questioned about the depth of their receiver room and who their true No. 2 wide receiver is, Lazard has emerged as a bonafide option and not just a situational pass-catcher or someone who only does the dirty work. He also emerged at an important time when this Packers offense was missing two reliable and trusted pass-catchers.