Former Clemson receiver is locked in entering second NFL season

A former Clemson wide receiver is locked in — and much more confident — as he tries to make a bigger impact for his team ahead of his second NFL campaign.

After the Green Bay Packers traded up to draft Amari Rodgers in the third round (85th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft, the former Tiger took only 103 snaps on offense as a rookie, recording four receptions for 45 yards while seeing most of his action as a kickoff and punt returner.

There was a learning curve for Rodgers as a rookie, and as he adjusted to being a smaller part of the Packers’ offense in comparison to the big role he played during his Clemson career (2017-20) — when he racked up 181 career receptions for 2,144 yards with 15 receiving touchdowns over 55 career games (37 starts) — Rodgers did his best last season to learn from fellow Packers receivers and figure out what he could improve on this season.

“Every time you’re at that new level, you gotta start over,” Rodgers said after the Packers’ minicamp practice Tuesday, via Packers.com. “I knew I had to learn, and I had to get up to beat with the offense and just being in the NFL.

“When I realized I probably wasn’t going to be getting as many snaps as I wanted to, I just started learning from different people, taking different things, so that when the offseason came, I could come back now and be ready.”

Indeed, Rodgers showed up in Green Bay this offseason ready — and in the best shape of his life.

According to Packers.com, in an effort to improve his cardio and explosiveness, the now leaner and stronger Rodgers hired a chef and cut his weight to around 210 pounds while trimming his overall body fat by 4 percent.

“This offseason, I locked in on getting my body right,” Rodgers said. “I feel like getting in that area where I was in college as far as where I want to be to move the way I want to and just play receiver the way I should.”

Not only does Rodgers look different physically entering Year 2, but coaches and teammates have noticed a difference in his confidence and demeanor this offseason — and he feels like he’s back to the type of player he was as a Tiger when he was a national champion and All-ACC performer who posted more than 1,000 receiving yards as a senior in 2020.