Packers: Robert Tonyan should prepare for bigger role in passing game

With the unfortunate news that tight end Jimmy Graham has a broken thumb, Robert Tonyan should prepare for an increased role in the Green Bay Packers passing game if Graham is unable to play against Minnesota.

In Week 11 against the Seattle Seahawks, Jimmy Graham was making a routine block when he all of a sudden left the field with a hand injury. We have since learned that the reason was for a broken thumb.

Nevertheless, Graham is going to try and gut it out against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12. But there has to be concern around how effective he can be as a pass catcher, and Robert Tonyan needs to be ready to step in, whether it’s this week or in the final weeks of the season.

Up to this point in the season, there has been a lot of grumbling from Packer fans that Graham hasn’t produced as many had anticipated, and there has been some truth to that.

Over the Packers’ 10 games he’s hauled in just 34 receptions but has been able to average over 13 yards per catch. However, Graham hasn’t been a factor in the red zone as many had hoped, bringing in just two touchdowns thus far.

Yet, there is so much more that Graham brings to the table for this Packers offense, such as creating mismatches for his teammates.

Other than drawing multiple defenders, the Packers have used Graham as a distraction for opposing defenses. Graham runs a lot of crossing routes, which either brings up the safety creating room over the top, or it makes the linebacker drop back, creating space underneath.

While defenders are focused on Graham over the middle, it also frees up other route runners on outside routes.

Graham’s potential loss or ineffectiveness because of his thumb is going to be a big role to fill and out of the Packers tight ends, Robert Tonyan is best equipped to do so as he brings many qualities to the table that Jimmy Graham does. If Graham at some point can’t play, I just hope Mike McCarthy gives Tonyan the chance.

Robert Tonyan’s skill set

An undrafted free agent out of Indiana State in 2017, Tonyan came out of nowhere in training camp this year and continued to impress during the preseason. In fact, so much so that he was kept on the 53-man roster over fullback Aaron Ripkowski.

Obviously he won’t be as refined, but Tonyan can bring a lot of the same aspects to the Green Bay Packers passing game as Jimmy Graham has.

He was a former wide receiver in college and a now converted tight end, so Tonyan brings a lot of athleticism to the position for the Packers and arguably already has the best hands out of Green Bay’s other tight ends, Marcedes Lewis and Lance Kendricks.

Similarly to Graham, Tonyan has great speed allowing him to be split outside as a receiver would be. This creates mismatches making him very effective on crossing and vertical routes.

Tonyan also has the potential to give Green Bay another red zone threat as Graham can. His great hands, huge catch radius and his ability to complete the back-shoulder catches makes him a great target for Aaron Rodgers.

Other tight end options

Other than Graham, the other tight ends ahead of Tonyan on the depth chart have been Marcedes Lewis and Lance Kendricks, both of which have seen some playing time.

Lewis will hopefully continue seeing more playing time as the season progresses, especially in the run game where he is still one of the best blocking tight ends in the league. But at this point in his career, Lewis isn’t as dynamic in the passing game.

As a converted wide receiver, Tonyan struggles with run blocking and most likely won’t be on he field in obvious running situations.

Although Kendricks has performed better in recent weeks, overall he’s been a below average run-blocking tight end with inconsistent hands and lacks the big-play potential that Tonyan has.

Potential concerns

Regardless of whether Graham is playing or not, moving forward I believe Tonyan should see more of the field than Kendricks, but a concern is his lack of experience. Tonyan has been on the field for just 13 plays this season, so he may not have the full trust of Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy.

We’ve also seen a number of personnel blunders from McCarthy this season that includes giving Kendricks more snaps in the run game than Lewis and the fact that running back Aaron Jones was the second running back option through his first four games of the season.

With that said, just because the playmaking ability is there, doesn’t mean Tonyan will see the field.

However, when you’ve dug yourself into a hole as the Packers have done, you need as many playmakers on the field as you can have. And as we saw against Seattle, Tonyan definitely has playmaking potential.

Robert Tonyan still has a lot to learn, so if he is needed down the stretch we won’t see him on the field for 80 percent of the Packers offensive snaps as Graham has.

Having said that, with or without Graham we can hope that Mike McCarthy gives Tonyan an increase in playing time, specifically in the passing game.