Green Bay Packers Week 3 fantasy profile – Who’s up? Who’s down?
By Kenn Korb
WRs – Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams
Week 2 Statistics:
Nelson – 5 catches, 73 receiving yards, 1 TD; 13.30 fantasy points
Cobb – 5 catches, 42 receiving yards, 1 rushing yard; 4.30 fantasy points
Adams – 3 catches, 26 receiving yards, 1 Fumble Lost; 0.60 fantasy points
Last season when Nelson was out and the receiving corps was stuck in a quagmire of injuries and inconsistencies, it was a popular idea that once he returned the ills at that position would be fixed.
Cobb would go from the #1 option (and top focus of defenses) to the secondary choice in the passing game, Adams wouldn’t be the only option on the outside of the defense (and usually matched up against a team’s top corner), and guys like Jared Abbrederis, Ty Montgomery, and Jeff Janis would be able to work on their precision and execution in lesser roles against the weaker depth pieces the opposing unit could throw at them.
So far, it isn’t working anywhere close to that vision.
Nelson has put up decent fantasy production in two games, but he has definitely been missing the trademark timing he used to have with Rodgers. We’ve seen numerous passes that just miss the mark (whether due to the positioning of Nelson or the throw from Rodgers) and many of those have led to drives stalling out.
As they practice and play more though, those issues should alleviate themselves on some level. This may be another week where we witness some of those struggles, but there are also other factors that may lead Rodgers to focus elsewhere in this game.
Nelson should be matched up with Lions’ cornerback Darius Slay (PFF’s #13 graded corner so far in 2016); he has the talent to slow many receivers on his own, and Nelson with Nelson still finding his footing he may struggle to consistently find space against him.
More than that, however, is that beyond Slay and safety Glover Quin the team is currently lacking in proven options across their defense. This should allow the players not being directly covered by those guys to have a better chance at finding openings, and I expect Rodgers and McCarthy to be putting more emphasis on taking advantage of those matchups than trying to force-feed their best wideout the ball.
This feels like the kind of game where Cobb breaks out of his own slump. Names like Quandre Diggs and Nevin Lawson will be who should end up directly covering him, and they are not exactly what you would call “starter-quality” contributors (PFF rates both as replacement-level players), and the Lions currently only have two healthy linebackers to potentially help in the areas Cobb is most effective at exploiting on a defense (underneath and across the middle).
Despite not focusing on Nelson though, I don’t see Adams having a particularly good game. He shouldn’t see a difficult matchup, but I think a combination of his inconsistencies (drops and poor route-running) showing up and Rodgers looking more towards the middle of the field will have him end the game relatively anonymously.