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A little over a decade ago, the Green Bay Packers got a breakout second season from a raw but talented tight end picked in the third round.
The Packers offense wouldn’t mind getting another one in 2020.
Can Jace Sternberger follow the path once blazed by Jermichael Finley?
The 91st overall pick in the 2008 draft, Finley improved from just six catches and 74 receiving yards as a rookie to 55 catches and 676 receiving yards as a standout sophomore. Finley caught five touchdown passes and averaged 9.4 yards per target as he emerged as a game-breaking matchup weapon for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Sternberger, the 75th overall pick in the 2019 draft, should have an opportunity to create a similar season in 2020.
His rookie year was devastated by injury, first by a head injury during training camp and later by a significant ankle injury suffered in the preseason. Sternberger, who produced 10 touchdown catches his final season at Texas A&M, didn’t play in a regular season game until November and ended up not catching his first NFL pass until the NFC Divisional Round.
Finley caught six passes in 13 games as a rookie. Sternberger caught three in eight games.
Everything started to click for Finley in Year 2. He caught up mentally and physically, received more opportunities in the passing game and thrived, meshing his incredible blend of size, athleticism and natural receiving ability to become a big-play threat for Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy.
Sternberger is in a similar position and capable of becoming a similar threat. He caught a touchdown pass in the NFC title game and entered the offseason healthy, and while the virtual offseason workout program didn’t provide an ideal developmental setting for a young player, he’ll still arrive at training camp with new and valuable opportunities waiting to be claimed. The Packers released Jimmy Graham, who handled 60 targets last season, opening the door for a player like Sternberger to become the top option at tight end in the passing game.
Sternberger doesn’t have Finley’s incredible size, but he can run, and he brings as much natural receiving talent to the table as any young tight end in Green Bay since Finley.
The mix looks right for a breakout season; Sternberger has ability, a much higher comfort level as a second-year player and a real opportunity to become a big part of the offense.
The Packers see Sternberger as a player they can use all over the formation to expose favorable matchups. They saw it during practices to end the 2019 season and are expecting it to carry over to 2020.
“Obviously, he has a lot of speed, he can stretch the seam, he’s a matchup problem for linebackers and safeties. Matt put him in the backfield, moved him around a little bit,” GM Brian Gutekunst said in January. “Jace can be one of those guys, as he develops, he can play a lot of different places and be a matchup problem. Excited for him, excited that he gained a little bit of confidence at the end of the season that will hopefully be a push going into next year.”