A strong finish to his rookie year and a lost 2019 season has Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers excited to have third-year receiver Equanimeous St. Brown back in the mix for 2020.
After catching 21 passes for 328 yards as a rookie in 2018, St. Brown injured his ankle during last year’s preseason, wound up on injured reserve and missed the entire season. Now, he’ll return with two healthy legs and a chance to earn a legitimate role in the offense to start his third season.
“I’m excited about getting EQ back from injury and seeing how he feels,” Rodgers said during a conference call last month. “He really made some great strides his rookie year, especially towards the end of the season, making plays for us and growing each week. He has a great approach to the game. It will be fun to see him healthy.”
The Packers’ sixth-round pick had two of his biggest games late in the 2018 season, catching three passes for 53 yards in Minnesota in late November and five passes for a career-high 94 yards in an overtime road win in New York two days before Christmas. St. Brown, who ran 4.48 at 6-5, ended up averaging 15.6 yards per catch and 9.1 yards per target.
While he missed out on an opportunity to establish himself as a top target for Rodgers in 2019, St. Brown will get another chance in 2020, especially after the Packers made precious few investments at receiver this offseason. Geronimo Allison, who played mostly in the slot in 2019, departed in free agency, opening the door for a player like St. Brown – who flashed some separation ability from the slot as a rookie – to carve out a role.
“Like I said, I’m excited about seeing EQ back in the mix,” Rodgers said.
Like Rodgers, GM Brian Gutekunst is expecting a jump from St. Brown and the other young Packers receivers.
“I really like our group of young receivers and where they’re headed,” Gutekunst told Larry McCarren of Packers.com. “I’ve always talked how, I think it’s very true if you look back, that most receivers in this league really start to come into their own in Year 3. Look back at our history here, with guys like Davante (Adams) and Jordy (Nelson), that’s really where they’ve started to come into their own. So I’m excited for those guys.”
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