Grading the Packers on Salary-Cap Curve: Receivers

With money comes expectations. With the fourth-highest cap charge among receivers, Davante Adams met, and exceeded, those expectations.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Player grades are a staple series of stories at the end of every season. Ours are different, as we grade based on their impact compared to the salary cap. That’s because the cap is such a big part of building a roster. Not only must a team’s high-priced players deliver but it must have some of its less-expensive players outperform their contracts. Generally, the Green Bay Packers got those contributions on the way to a second consecutive NFC Championship Game.

Part 4 of this series focuses on receivers. All salary data is from OverTheCap.com.

Davante Adams

No. 4 among receivers with $16.475 million cap charge

With money comes expectations. That kind of money creates enormous expectations. Adams met, and exceeded, those expectations.

The sheer numbers were staggering. Adams caught 115 passes for 1,374 yards and 18 touchdowns. He set the team record for receptions and tied Sterling Sharpe’s franchise mark for touchdowns – the third-most in NFL history. He became the first player with at least 100 receptions and 18 touchdowns in a season. And he did it while missing two-plus games due to a hamstring injury. With two more scores in the playoffs, Adams’ 16-game total was 20 touchdowns.

Always a superb route runner, two numbers jumped to the forefront as he continually produced despite everyone in the stadium knowing where the ball was going.

First, it’s catch percentage. According to Pro Football Focus, he caught 78.8 percent of targeted passes. Of the 62 receivers targeted at least 70 times, that was the third-best rate in the NFL. His previous career high was 68.5 percent. So, while it’s true quarterback Aaron Rodgers targeted Adams frequently, the passing game was efficient.

Second, it’s the absence of dropped passes. PFF charged Adams with only one drop. His drop rate of 0.87 percent tied for third in the NFL among those receivers with 70-plus targets and tied for first among those with 75 targets. In his first six seasons, he averaged 6.8 drops.

In 2021, Adams’ cap charge will inch up a bit to $16.75 million for 2021. It’s his final season under contract. After a massive season and with a base salary of $12.25 million that could easily be turned into signing bonus for accounting purposes, a contract extension for the 28-year-old seems like a no-brainer.

Grade: A.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

No. 114 with $804,389 cap charge

Receivers coach Jason Vrable has a nice head of brown hair. A few more years with Valdes-Scantling could have that hair falling out or turning white.

The good of Valdes-Scantling will keep him in the NFL for a long, long time. Since entering the NFL as a fifth-round pick in 2018, the speedster leads the NFL with his 17.8-yard average and is second in 40-yard touchdowns (seven) and 40-yard catches (15). Since 2019, he is first in 70-yard touchdown catches (three). In 2020, among all players with at least 32 receptions, he led the NFL with a 20.9-yard average. For the season, he caught 33 passes for 690 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Four of those scored went for 40-plus yards.

On the other hand, he dropped seven passes to give him a drop rate of 17.5 percent – fourth-worst in the league among receivers with 45 targets. Three of those were on deep passes, making those miscues stand out like a sore thumb.

Grade: C-plus.

Equanimeous St. Brown

No. 136 with $704,602 cap charge

After not playing in the opener and spending the next three weeks on injured reserve, St. Brown caught 7-of-13 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown. Three of his catches went for at least 20 yards. In 12 games, he played 196 snaps. He dropped one pass in the regular season and flubbed an easy one on the two-point play in the NFC Championship Game against Tampa Bay.

At 6-foot-5 and with 4.48 speed in the 40, there’s a lot to like. There were some growing pains at times with Rodgers. A sixth-round pick in 2018, a big training camp awaits.

Grade: D.

Allen Lazard

No. 146 with $675,000 cap charge

In 10 games, Lazard caught 33 passes for 451 yards and three touchdowns. With Davante Adams sidelined, he had a massive night in a primetime victory at New Orleans with six catches for 146 yards and one touchdown. Through those three games, he was on pace to catch 69 passes for 1,355 yards and 10.7 touchdowns. However, he suffered a core-muscle injury in that game that required surgery. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t quite the same player upon his return. Still, his 10-game production translated to a 16-game pace of 53 catches for 722 yards and 4.8 touchdowns. He added seven catches for 158 yards in the playoffs, including the deep touchdown that clinched the victory over the Rams.

With imposing size and physicality, he’s a quality secondary threat as a receiver and superb blocker. However, of 92 receivers who were targeted at least 45 times, he had the eighth-highest drop rate (five drops; 13.2 percent), according to Pro Football Focus.

Grade: B-minus.

Malik Taylor

No. 173 with $610,000 cap charge

In 15 games, he caught 5-of-6 passes for 66 yards and one touchdown. He blocked on about half of his 166 snaps, though not nearly to the level of those ahead of him on the depth chart. He took over kickoff-return duties down the stretch but averaged just 18.6 yards per runback and was replaced by Jamaal Williams for the playoffs. There’s some long-term upside but no guarantees.

Grade: F.

Tavon Austin

No. 212 with $220,588 cap charge

With Tyler Ervin injured and Darrius Shepherd going nowhere fast as a returner, the Packers threw a Hail Mary in the direction of Austin. The eighth pick of the 2013 draft, known for his elite speed, did absolutely nothing. He caught all five passes thrown his way for just 20 yards. On punt returns, he averaged just 4.7 yards per runback with one turnover. But, hey, he broke a 9-yarder in the playoffs.

Grade: F.