Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed frustration with his young corps of receivers, for the first time since the Packers parted ways with star receiver Davante Adams, for drops and inconsistencies.
“The young guys, especially young receivers, we’ve got to be way more consistent,” Rodgers said, according to Rob Demovsky. “A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, running the wrong route. We’ve got to get better in that area.”
For what it’s worth, Rodgers frustration wasn’t directed at Allen Lazard, whom Rodgers believes is a true number 1 receiver, or longtime Packers wideout Randall Cobb, whom Rodgers believes is of of the NFL’s premier slot receivers. Nor was it directed at free agent addition Sammy Watkins, who Rodgers stated had his best day.
But every one else was on blast as the Packers prepare for their preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Friday.
“It’s coming up,” Rodgers said. “Yeah, it’s coming up. It really is. We’re going to play our best guys when the season starts. And whoever those guys are, those guys are going to get the reps. It’s the guys I trust the most and the guys the coaches trust the most. A lot of it is just the simple responsibility in the offense. Way before body positioning and movement and throw, and all that stuff, are you in the right spot at the right time? Are you running the right route?”
Rookie Romeo Dobbs had issues that certainly impacted play, and not in the best way, and Amari Rodgers who had route running issues.
“You keep dropping the ball, you’re not going to be out there” he explained. “It’s going to be the most reliable guys that are out there. The preparation and the job responsibility is most important. There’s going to be physical mistakes, like we’ve talked about, but if you’re going out there and dropping the ball and somebody else behind you is in the right spot all the time and catching the ball, that guy’s going to play.”
“The offense is growing,” Lazard said following team practice. “It’s coming along and everything. We had a lot of false starts, a lot of missed signals and stuff like that today, which is not the standard that we’ve had, especially in recent history. So I think there’s a lot to improve on from that standpoint. But overall, I thought we did well.”
Rodgers also discussed rookie Christian Watson, who is the highest drafted receiver by the organization in 20 years.
“Christian, he’s going to be a work in progress,” Rodgers said. “It’s good to see him out there, good to get him through the walk-throughs. I told him I’m going to be testing him every single day in the reps that he’s in there to try and get him thinking about the right stuff when he’s out there, and then Bobby is itching to go. So it’s encouraging because — what do we got, four weeks till first game or so — I think all of them might have a legitimate opportunity to play.”
