One of the biggest offseason storylines for the Green Bay Packers was what is going to be their identity on offense with the loss of Wide Receiver Davante Adams now playing for the Las Vegas Raiders.
As training camp is starting, there is going to be a lot of chatter coming from Packers camp about what the offense looks like coming out of practice. Just for your information it is going to sound bad as that Packers offense is going up against one of the league’s best defenses every day in practice. So, there is going to be rough days but do not overreact about it or just assume they’re bad. In fact, Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers even said it himself on the Pat McAfee Show.
Under head coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers will be a run-first team, which is rare to commit to when you have the back-to-back MVP under center. With Adams gone, the Packers have no choice but to lean on their two best skill players: Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.
Packers Running Backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are going to be the workhorses of this offense. Expect big changes in the way the Packers line up too as the Packers offense last season went in the shotgun formation 54% of the time while they went under center 46% of the time. Expect this to be more 50-50 or even being more under center in 2022 than in the shotgun formation.
The reason being is they are going to take the approach of run first, lean on the defense and let the back-to-back MVP go to work of elevating everyone’s play around him like he has done his whole career. While they do not have a flashy room of receivers, they will definitely surprise some people as it’s not going to be the same old Packers offense with Rodgers to Adams the majority of passing plays. Instead, the offense will be more unpredictable.
The ball is going to be spread around a lot more. Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Allen Lazard is going to step into that wide receiver one role. The staple of the Packers offense this season is going to be any formation that has two running backs in there at the same time.
This formation is going to make them tough to beat. The secret weapon is going to be Jones. Jones is going to play more of the “Deebo” role like that hybrid wide-back that San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel likes to call it making him Rodgers top target. Jones is going to play wide receiver and running back, ultimately resulting in an influx of targets. The star running back has been at his most successful in games where Adams was absent.
Much like Jones, the Packers as a team have had success without Davante Adams, boasting an impressive record of seven wins to zero losses. Jones, in particular, flourished when Adams was inactive, posting 388 receiving yards with 36 receptions on 47 targets, totaling four touchdowns averaging 10.8 yards per reception. On the ground Jones has had 470 rushing yards on 101 attempts totaling six touchdowns averaging 4.6 yards per carry. If those stats are put together Jones has 858 total yards on 137 touches totaling 10 touchdowns and averaging 6.3 yards per touch in seven games without Adams. If broken down by game Jones averages 123 yards per game on 20 touches totaling nearly 1.5 touchdowns per game. If those averages are taken across a 17-game season, Jones would project to have 2,091 total yards on 340 touches totaling nearly 24 touchdowns.
With this all being said, Jones may not only win the Packers a number of games in 2022, he may win your fantasy league if you are lucky enough to draft him. Otherwise, this 2022 Packers offense is going to look way different than in the past three years with the ball being spread around more, more of the running game and this offense relying on the defense from keeping other teams from scoring.
