The best run-blocking tight end on the Green Bay Packers’ roster will soon be an unrestricted free agent.
Marcedes Lewis, who the Packers brought back for a second season in Green Bay in 2019, has an expiring contract. The Packers must decide if Lewis, who turns 36 in May, is worth bringing back for a third year.
Here is the case for and against re-signing Lewis:
Case for
He dropped weight and showed up in terrific shape in 2019, and it showed for long stretches of the season. His run blocking on the edge of Matt LaFleur’s wide zone blocking scheme was critical to the operation. During several of Aaron Jones’ most production rushing games, Lewis was at the center of the action, sealing off lanes, performing difficult reach blocks on edge defenders and getting to the second level to eliminate linebackers. Among qualified tight ends at Pro Football Focus, Lewis ranked eighth in the NFL in run-blocking grade. His success in the run game earned him a spot among our “studs” of the 2019 season. Lewis lacks speed and explosiveness but he still managed to catch 15 passes for 156 yards and his first touchdown from Aaron Rodgers, who had a passer rating of 118.4 when targeting Lewis in 2019. His blocking ability provides opportunities to wiggle open off play-action. All four of his catches over 15 yards came off a run fake. He’s generally reliable as a blocker in pass protection. Lewis is a valued teammate, a trusted leader in the locker room and a favorite of Rodgers. If Jimmy Graham is gone, Lewis might be the right player to entrust to lead the transition at tight end. He wants to be back in Green Bay.
[lawrence-related id=38694]
Case against
Lewis will be 36 in May and doesn’t move well, which complicates some things as a blocker and in the passing game. Opponents exploited his lack of flexibility at times. At his age, physical decline can happen rapidly. It’s possible the Packers will want to get younger and more athletic at tight end, a truly important position in the scheme. There were probably too many times when a defender beat Lewis at the point of attack with quickness and blew up a run play, and edge rushers got the best of him a few times for pressures or quarterback takedowns. Any regression in his run-blocking ability would really handicap his value to the Packers, mostly because it’s hard to see his production in the passing game ever reaching anything significant. In 2019, Lewis returned on a deal worth $2.1 million. Can Brian Gutekunst afford that deal again?
[polldaddy poll=10507453]
[lawrence-related id=39125,36367,35895]
[lawrence-related id=39758,39681,39571,39371]
[vertical-gallery id=39134]