For many years under Mike McCarthy, the Green Bay Packers were a pass-heavy team featuring traditional spread offense concepts and focused on using the wide receiver position as the main production source in the passing game.
There’s a different type of spread offense being used by Matt LaFleur and the Packers in 2020.
According to the team, the Packers are the only team in the NFL with at least six players producing at least 12 catches and 100 receiving yards through the first four weeks of the 2020 season.
Three receivers, two running backs and a tight end make up the new spread offense.
| Player | Catches | Targets | Yards | TD |
| WR Davante Adams | 17 | 20 | 192 | 2 |
| RB Aaron Jones | 15 | 23 | 135 | 2 |
| WR Allen Lazard | 13 | 17 | 254 | 2 |
| TE Robert Tonyan | 13 | 14 | 173 | 5 |
| RB Jamaal Williams | 13 | 13 | 119 | 0 |
| WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 12 | 25 | 210 | 1 |
Injuries have certainly played a factor, with Adams missing two games with a hamstring injury and Lazard missing Monday night’s win over the Falcons with a core muscle injury. But the Packers have proved adaptable and deep in the passing game, using all three skill positions to generate yards and scores with great efficiency.
Aaron Rodgers has thrown 12 of his 13 touchdown passes while generating a passer rating of 139.8 when targeting his top six receivers this season.
LaFleur and Rodgers keep finding ways of spreading the love in the passing game.
Each of the top three receivers has a catch of at least 40 yards. The Packers are averaging 10.6 yards per target (a terrific number) when targeting Adams, Lazard and Valdes-Scantling in 2020.
The Packers are the only team to have two running backs with at least 10 catches and 100 receiving yards. Together, Jones and Williams have 28 catches for 254 yards, and both running backs have a catch over 25 yards.
In fact, all six of the Packers’ top pass-catchers have at least one catch over 25 yards. Jace Sternberger and Malik Taylor both have a catch of at least 20 yards, and Darrius Shepherd (19 yards) and Marcedes Lewis (18) nearly joined the 20-yard catch club.
Tonyan has been one of the breakout stars of 2020, catching touchdown passes in each of the last three games. He has five scores this season, tied for the NFL lead, and he’s averaging 12.4 yards per target while catching all but one of his targets. Rodgers has a 157.7 passer rating when targeting him, and he’s the No. 1 tight end in the NFL by DVOA.
Williams has caught all 13 of his targets. Four of the team’s top six receivers have a catch percentage of at least 75 percent to start 2020.
Valdes-Scantling has been the boom or bust option. He’s catching only 48 percent of his targets and leads the team in drop percentage, but he’s created nine first downs or touchdown on 12 catches and is averaging 17.5 yards per catch.
The Packers have actually had a different leading receiver in all four games this season:
| Week | Opponent | Leading receiver | Yards |
| 1 | at MIN | Davante Adams | 156 |
| 2 | vs. DET | Aaron Jones | 68 |
| 3 | at NO | Allen Lazard | 146 |
| 4 | vs. ATL | Robert Tonyan | 98 |
Adams set a career-high for catches in Week 1 (14), Jones set a career-high for total yards in Week 2 (236), Lazard set a career-high for catches (6) and yards (146) in Week 3, and Tonyan and Williams set career-highs for catches (6, 8) and receiving yards (98, 95).
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