One week after Aaron Rodgers campaigned for more opportunities for Randall Cobb, who then went on to catch seven passes for 99 yards on Sunday in London, the Green Bay Packers quarterback argued the need for getting tight end Marcedes Lewis and receiver Allen Lazard more involved, specifically in the passing game.
Lewis, the 38-year-old tight end, caught his first pass of the season on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers against the Giants.
“I’ve talked many times about our best 11,” Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show.” Over and over, ‘Big Dog’ has shown up, dominating the line of scrimmage in the run game. I hope we can keep giving him opportunities, here and there in the pass game when we can. He’s very elusive with the ball in his hands. He can do little things in the passing game, especially in the red zone, so I hope we can get him some more looks.”
Lewis has been on the field for 43 percent of the offense’s plays so far in 2022, or the same percentage as last season. He was targeted 28 times, creating 23 catches and 214 yards, over 17 games in 2021.
Now in his fifth season in Green Bay, Lewis has caught five touchdown passes from Rodgers.
While throwing to a glorified offensive tackle isn’t going to spark the Packers passing game to life, it’s certainly possible Lewis could be a factor in the red zone when teams load up against the run. Rodgers said the play design on his touchdown catch in London was one first developed by former offensive coordinator and red-zone designer Nathaniel Hackett, who is now the head coach in Denver.
The four-time MVP also mentioned the need for Lazard to get more looks in the passing game. He caught four of eight targets for only 35 yards against the Giants after producing his first 100-yard game of the season (116 yards) a week prior against the Patriots.
“We gotta get Allen more involved too, whether that’s calling more plays for him or me giving him a few more looks. Allen is such a talented guy for us, we have to find ways of getting the ball in his hands.”
Dating back to last season, Lazard has a touchdown catch in seven of his last nine regular-season games, including the 4-yarder he caught from Rodgers on Sunday in London.
Rodgers was targeting Lazard on the game-deciding fourth down against the Giants. He also went to Lazard twice on the pivotal three-and-out sequence.
Lazard is catching 64 percent of his targets and averaging 8.4 yards per target through his first four games of 2022. He’s first on the team in receiving touchdowns, tied for second in targets, fourth in catches and third in receiving yards.
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