One of the biggest stories of the offseason was Randall Cobb choosing to re-sign with the Green Bay Packers. He did so despite receiving bigger money offers from other teams, and showed that he was a loyal player with a desire to compete for championships.
Cobb has been considered one of the league’s star receivers over the past few seasons, but has widely been thought of as a number two target behind Jordy Nelson. Now that he has re-signed for big money long-term with the Packers, it is time for fans and the media to begin seeing him for what he truly is. Looking ahead at the 2015 season, it is time for everyone to view Cobb as a superstar and one of the elite wide receivers in the game.
During the 2014 season with the Packers, Cobb ended up catching 91 passes for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He finished 11th in the NFL in receiving yardage and tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns. Those basic numbers show that he hung right with the bigger names that are considered superstars by the league, and he was even better than some of them. Last season was a healthy year for him, unlike the 2013 season when he broke his leg halfway through the year and missed a large chunk of games.
Top 5 catch rate-to-target WRs last year? 5. Odell Beckham 4. Antonio Brown 3. Emmanuel Sanders 2. Randall Cobb 1. Kenny Stills
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) June 22, 2015
Digging a bit deeper into the statistics for Cobb, he was tied for the third most catches that went for 20 or more yards with 24. He also showed his elusiveness after the catch by picking up 556 yards after the catch, which was good for seventh in the NFL. Finally, he was tied for third with Nelson in first downs by a receiver.
Those numbers show exactly what type of receiver Cobb is, and he is more than just a number two receiver for Green Bay.
At just 24 years old, Cobb is set to improve even more heading into the 2015 season. Assuming he doesn’t get too comfortable now that he has made big money on his first payday, he will be just fine and should put up even bigger numbers for the Packers than he did last year.
It has been obvious over the past couple of years that Cobb and superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers have been building more confidence with each other. That was obvious in key games last season when the reigning MVP was more than comfortable throwing to Cobb. Rodgers is able to make his receivers better around him, but Cobb’s ability to play anywhere on the field has actually made Rodgers better and his job much easier.
As Green Bay looks to take the next step and make it back to another Super Bowl, Cobb is going to be one of their main keys.
There aren’t many wide receivers that are capable of making an impact on as many areas of a game as Cobb is with the Packers. He can be a deep threat, cut across the middle, make plays in the open field and even line up in the backfield and take carries like a running back. That type of flexibility is exactly what has made the Packers’ offense so dangerous, and it separates Cobb from other standard wide receivers.
Davante Adams will take a leap forward in 2015 as well, which will force defenses to take even more pressure away from Cobb. It isn’t going to be as easy for him to put up bigger numbers as it would have been with the wide receiver corps that Green Bay had last year, but it will make things better for Cobb in the long run.
Expect to see Cobb come out strong to start the 2015 season, and assuming he stays healthy to outperform his 2014 season. Green Bay needs their newly signed star to take the next step, and to make his mark as an NFL superstar.
