Packers: Jake Kumerow takes another big step towards roster spot
At this stage, it would be a surprise if Jake Kumerow didn’t make the Green Bay Packers roster. For the second year in a row, he’s stepped up during the summer and made it almost impossible not to keep him on the roster.
In a game where Equanimeous St. Brown went without a catch and J’Mon Moore didn’t even have a target, Jake Kumerow continued to impress with three catches for 52 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in preseason, second on the team behind Allen Lazard.
Kumerow ticks all of the boxes. He runs good routes, understands the offense and has the trust of Aaron Rodgers. All of those factors shouldn’t just secure him a spot on the 53-man roster, but also plenty of targets in the regular season.
It would be hard to argue that Kumerow is the number four wide receiver. For a while I had St. Brown ahead of him on the depth chart, but after two preseason games, Kumerow deserves to be the main backup behind the three starters.
Lazard and Darrius Shepherd also impressed once again against the Ravens on Thursday night. It’s not completely out of the question that St. Brown and Moore — both draft picks a year ago — could miss out on the roster in favor of Kumerow, Lazard and Shepherd, who all went undrafted.
Must Read. Top five players for Packers vs. Ravens in preseason. light
And don’t forget that Geronimo Allison was also an undrafted free agent back in 2016.
In two preseason games, Kumerow has caught five of seven targets for 79 yards, averaging 15.8 yards per reception.
Zach Kruse of Packers Wire summed it up perfectly earlier this month:
Rodgers loves him. LaFleur loves him. Beat Jaire for a huge play tonight. Played all the snaps with the No. 1 offense and made a nice back-shoulder catch in the two-minute drill.
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) August 3, 2019
Barring an injury, Jake Kumerow is going to be on the 53
And since then, Kumerow’s stock has only continued to rise.
There’s still a lot to play for at wide receiver, and the competition remains tough to call. But what we can all but guarantee at this stage is who the top four receivers will be on the depth chart: Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allison, and Kumerow.
Assuming six receivers are kept on the roster, that leaves two remaining spots for the other players to compete for. It’s no guarantee those spots will go to draft picks Moore, St. Brown or Trevor Davis, either.
Kumerow won’t just make the roster, but he can be a big part of Matt LaFleur’s offense in 2019.