Packer Central

Jayden Reed Among Under-Radar Packers Who Must Step Up vs. Raiders

Looking beyond the obvious, such as Jordan Love and Jaire Alexander, these five members of the Green Bay Packers must deliver big games against the Las Vegas Raiders

Bill Huber

Jayden Reed Among Under-Radar Packers Who Must Step Up vs. Raiders
Jayden Reed Among Under-Radar Packers Who Must Step Up vs. Raiders /
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – If the Green Bay Packers are going to upset the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, everyone knows Jordan Love must complete passes, AJ Dillon must break some tackles and Jaire Alexander must limit Davante Adams.

Looking beyond the obvious, these five players need big games, as well.

RT Zach Tom

In three games in which he was healthy, Packers right tackle Zach Tom allowed two pressures. Last week against Detroit, while wearing a brace to protect an injured knee, he allowed six pressures.

Tom will face a monumental challenge against Raiders star Maxx Crosby. Crosby is a relentless defender who is a high-impact player against the run and pass. He entered the week with a league-leading 27 pressures after leading the NFL with 22 tackles for losses last year.

“He’s a really good player, somebody we’ve got to be aware of where he’s at every play and have a good plan going into it to block him,” Love said of Crosby, who lines up over the right tackle on the overwhelming majority of plays.

On a weak Raiders defense, Crosby is the one game-wrecker. A winning performance by Tom and a victory by the Packers could go hand in hand.

WR Jayden Reed

The Raiders will be without their starting slot defender, Nate Hobbs. In his place, they figure to go with Amik Robertson, a fourth-round pick in 2020 who had two interceptions last season.

Out of 46 corners with at least 25 snaps of slot coverage this season, Robertson ranks 45th with 2.59 yards allowed per coverage snap, 45th with 4.8 coverage snaps per reception and 40th with a 124.9 passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus.

Packers rookie Jayden Reed has been an impact performer. He’s second on the team with 12 receptions, 203 yards and two touchdowns. However, when in the slot, he’s caught just 6-of-15 passes. That 40.0 percent catch rate is the worst in the league among all receivers targeted at least 15 times in the slot, according to PFF. With two drops, his drop rate of 25.0 percent is almost triple any other slot receiver.

Reed should have opportunities. He must deliver.

Jayden Reed
Jayden Reed :: Photo by Tork Mason/USA Today Sports Images

DT TJ Slaton

Because of the presence of Davante Adams, the Packers probably are going to have to lean toward their coverage-centric defensive packages.

That will put the onus on Green Bay’s big guys to stop Raiders star running back Josh Jacobs. The 330-pound TJ Slaton figures to be the player alongside veteran Kenny Clark on first and second downs. Slaton has played well at times – his 11 tackles have limited the opposition to just 1.3 yards per play, according to Sports Info Solutions – but he hasn’t been consistently stout.

You can talk until your blue in the face about defensive coordinator Joe Barry but, at the end of the day, the big guys up front must control the line of scrimmage.

LB Isaiah McDuffie

With 17 tackles against Atlanta and 19 tackles against Detroit, you know linebacker Quay Walker will be the first man to the ball on most running plays. But he can’t stop Raiders running back Josh Jacobs by himself. With former All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell set to miss a second consecutive game with an ankle injury, Isaiah McDuffie will be lined up alongside Walker.

A team leader on special teams, McDuffie had six tackles on running plays against the Lions that limited those gains to 22 yards.

“It’s good to see his play style on our defense,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s a guy that, he definitely plays the way we want him to play. He’s very physical and he trusts what he sees, and he shoots, there’s no hesitation in his play.”

S Dallin Leavitt

Just like it will take a village to stop Adams and Jacobs, one player won’t be the savior on special teams. But let’s focus on Leavitt, who spent his first four seasons with the Raiders.

Even with every other team having played five games, Green Bay holds the dubious NFL lead with penalties (10) and yardage (96) on special teams.

Moreover, the Raiders have a high-quality returner with DeAndre Carter. He is averaging 31.5 yards per kickoff return this season and averaged 11.7 yards per punt return last year. Packers kicker Anders Carlson has the lowest touchback percentage in the NFL and punter Daniel Whelan has the lowest net average. Coverage will be key; Leavitt must lead the charge.

More Green Bay Packers News

Source: Jaire Alexander will play vs. Raiders … But Aaron Jones might not

Imperfect routes equal imperfect accuracy for Jordan Love

Published
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

Home/Game Day