The biggest fan of Green Bay Packers receiver Allen Lazard might be the man tasked with throwing him the football.
During a conference call with reporters last week, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers showered Lazard – a former undrafted free agent who finished last season ranked second on the team in receiving yards – with high praise, labeling him as an “ascending player” entering the 2020 season.
“By the end of the season, he was called upon many, many times in important situations to make big plays and he did,” Rodgers said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “He’s just a great teammate, and ascending player, loved his approach every week and he made some big-time plays for us.”
Lazard caught 35 passes for 477 yards and three touchdowns in 2019, all modest numbers. But a deeper dive into the numbers of Lazard’s season help highlight why Rodgers is so high on his young receiver.
Consider the following:
– Lazard caught 67.3 percent of his targets and averaged 9.2 yards per target
– Rodgers had a passer rating of 115.6 when targeting Lazard
– Lazard produced 12 third-down conversions on just 35 catches
– Lazard ranked 18th among all qualifying receivers in the NFL in DVOA, a metric developed by Football Outsiders that compares the per-play value of a player to the average player at the position.
– Lazard averaged 1.62 yards per route run, per Pro Football Focus, ranking 44th among qualifying receivers
– Lazard’s overall receiving grade at PFF ranked 51st among all receivers
– Among receivers with at least 40 targets in 2019, Lazard ranked 12th in passer rating when targeted (117.9), per PFF
– All three of Lazard’s touchdowns were over 20 yards, including two on third down
Rodgers mentioned all the big plays Lazard made in big moments late in the year. He’s likely talking about plays like the 28-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-5 in the fourth quarter of Week 17 in Detroit. Or the 23-yard pickup on 3rd-and-long in the second half in New York. Or the three third-down conversions in Minnesota. During December alone, Lazard converted eight third downs with catches.
His ascension during the 2019 season was real. Lazard started the year on the practice squad and ended it as the offense’s No. 2 receiver. He became a player Rodgers trusted, especially in big situations. And the stats and analytics indicate he made the most of his opportunities.
Now, Lazard must continue ascending. Teams will have all offseason to find weaknesses and figure out better ways of covering him. Like a young hitter in baseball, Lazard will need to find the right adjustment to all the adjustments.
The Aaron Rodgers era is littered with one-year wonders, the marginal talents who can be propped up by quarterback over sample sizes but eventually fade into obscurity, the weight of the NFL’s talent crushing them on the way out. Lazard doesn’t have to follow that path. He can be different. And considering the Packers didn’t make a big investment at receiver this offseason, it’s almost guaranteed he’ll get an opportunity to be a major part of the Matt LaFleur offense in Year 2.
Lazard is coming off a breakout season and has the quarterback in his corner. Ascending in the right word for his career path, which began as an undrafted free agent and included a stop on the Jaguars practice squad. His arrow is pointed up. It’s on Lazard to keep it pointed that way.
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