The Green Bay Packers came into the 2015 season with a question mark at the tight end position. They had two players contending to be the starter in Richard Rodgers and Andrew Quarless, but neither of them had been able to separate themselves from the other. Rodgers ended up winning the starting job and is finally beginning to find his comfort zone in the Green Bay offense.
On Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Rodgers was a huge security blanket for Aaron Rodgers. He was able to catch six passes for 45 yards and while he didn’t catch a touchdown he was still able to make a big impact on the game. Rodgers has caught 19 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns so far this season.
At 6-foot-4 and 257 pounds, he is a huge target that is nearly impossible to defend against. He also possesses very good athleticism for a player his size and pick up big yardage after the catch as well.
Rodgers is just 23 years old and isn’t even close to working his way into his full potential. He has shown the work ethic and determination, however, to give the Packers reason to believe that he will reach his full potential at some point in the next few seasons. When he does get to that point, he is going to be a very scary tight end for opposing defenses.
Tom Clements and the Green Bay offense had to make quite a few changes to their game planning when Jordy Nelson went down with a torn ACL during preseason action. Rodgers has been one of the pieces that has stepped up to help replace the production that was lost when Nelson went down.
Looking ahead at the rest of the season, Rodgers will continue being a big weapon for the Packers. He is going to get a bigger role in the offense and has shown the athleticism and hands to handle a much bigger role. There are plenty of reasons to believe that Rodgers can develop into being a top-10 tight end in the NFL, but he has plenty of work to do to get there.
Green Bay has to be very happy with Rodgers’ play so far this season and even more excited to see what the future holds for him.
Expect to see Rodgers continue having big games each and every week and to continue making Aaron Rodgers feel more comfortable with him due to his consistency.
