When Jimmy Graham signed a three-year deal worth $30 million with Green Bay back in March
Womens Tramon Williams Jersey , he was expected to be a big weapon for Aaron Rodgers to throw to — especially in the red zone.Eleven games into his
stint in Green Bay, that has not been the case.Playing through a broken thumb
that kept him off the field in obvious blocking situations, Graham was limited
to 22 of the Packers??53 offensive snaps (42 percent) on Sunday in Minnesota.
Against Seattle in Week 11, Graham played in 21 snaps (43 percent) before
leaving with the injury. He had been playing in at least 2/3 of Green Bay’s
offensive snaps in each of the Packers’ first nine games.Fellow tight ends
Marcedes Lewis (23) and Lance Kendricks (22) saw a similar amount of playing
time against the Vikings despite Graham?? hefty price tag. For Lewis, it his
most offensive snaps of the season. His previous high was 22 (31 percent)
against San Francisco in Green Bay’s sixth game.Graham was targeted just four
times and caught two passes for 34 yards. The 32-year-old has tallied more than
34 receiving yards just once in the past five weeks.And he hasn?? done much in
the red zone
Quinten Rollins Jersey White , either. Aaron Rodgers has targeted wide receiver Davante Adams a league-high 23 times inside the 20-yard line, while
Graham has seen just eight — or 14.5 percent ??of the red-zone targets.
Other notes from Sunday?? snap counts:— For just the second time this season, Adams played in 100 percent of the offensive snaps.— Wide receiver Marquez
Valdes-Scantling was on the field for 44 plays (83 percent) but was targeted
just twice, with one catch for three yards.— Jason Spriggs replaced an injured
David Bakhtiari at left tackle twice due to injury and totaled 10 snaps in the
loss.— Defensive tackle Kenny Clark played in a season-high 66 snaps (94
percent). He had four tackles and a sack.— Due in part to injuries, Ibraheim
Campbell
Dean Lowry Jersey , who was claimed off waivers three weeks ago, played in 53 (76 percent) defensive snaps.OFFENSEPLAYERPlays (53)%Bulaga53100%A.
Rodgers53100%Adams53100%Linsley53100%Bell5196%Valdes-Scantling4483%Bakhtiari4381%Jones4075%St.
Brown3668%Taylor3260%Lewis2343%McCray2343%Kendricks2242%Graham2242%Williams1325%Moore1121%Spriggs1019%Tonyan12%DEFENSEPLAYERPlays
(70)%Martinez70100%Williams70100%Alexander70100%Clark6694%Jackson6086%Jones5781%Matthews5781%Fackrell5579%Lowry5579%Campbell5376%Morrison4666%Gilbert3043%Brice2434%Lancaster2231%Adams1927%Brown913%Burks710%
After picking up two premium edge defenders in free agency, how could Green
Bay’s draft priorities shift? rushing in sub-package next to Za’Darius Smith, a
disruptive interior player, with Preston Smith coming off the edge. Oliver
boasts such freak athleticism that some NFL teams were asking him to do
linebacker drills at the Combine
Womens Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , something he practiced in the offseason even with the added weight. Though the 21-year-old lacks the ideal
length and height to be a 3-4 defensive end, he profiles similarly to Daniels as
a shorter, powerful rusher with quickness and burst. He could easily slide into
the role as a three technique defensive tackle next to Clark at the nose without
changing much of anything should the Packers choose to move on from Daniels. Let
Oliver do what Oliver does, much like Pettine deploys Daniels, another guy
without the ideal body type to control blockers with his length. It’s not that
Brian Gutekunst should ignore possible edge rushers with the 12th
pick
Jimmy Graham Jersey White , or that offensive line help wouldn’t buoy the talent levels of the Packers in similar ways. Green Bay certainly needs to play
for the future at offensive line and a team can never have too much pass rush.
But that’s the interesting part of Oliver’s skillset for Pettine and the
Packers: he can be a pass rusher on the interior, a place Pettine truly
prioritizes. The league has recognized how much easier it is to mitigate the
impact of edge rushers, but defensive tackles who can win early are nearly
impossible to stop from being disruptive. Just ask the teams who have to play
Aaron Donald twice a year. Oliver doesn’t have to be Donald to be valuable. The
Packers can find offensive line help later. Dalton Risner may fall to 30 and
Chris Lindstrom almost assuredly will be there. The 12th pick feels too early
for guys like Devin Bush or T.J. Hockenson, even if each are tantalizing talents
who would have long-term roles with the Packers. It’s a deep class of overhang
defenders and tight ends. Receivers can came later. Find inside pass rush in a
player who can help in 2019 before becoming a full-time player in 2020 next to
Kenny Clark, to form one of the most dynamic interior duos in football. If the
Packers had not added the Smiths in free agency and if Montez Sweat or Brian
Burns were still available at 12
Jamaal Williams Jersey White , the Packers may have felt the pull of an edge rusher was too great to pick Oliver, even despite his top-5 talent. That
obstacle should now be gone (such that it ever existed in the first
place).Oliver now represents a unique, high-upside talent play to throw a
lightning bolt into a defense that just added some thunder on the outside.
