Ranking the Packers (No. 16): Allen Lazard

Allen Lazard went from the practice squad to Green Bay's No. 2 receiver last season, a spot he figures to hold at the start of training camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a tradition that stretches more than a decade, here is our annual ranking of the 90 players on the Green Bay Packers’ roster. This isn’t merely a look at the best players. Rather, it’s a formula that combines talent, salary, importance of the position, depth at the position and, for young players, draft positioning. More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about every player on the roster.

No. 16: WR Allen Lazard (6-5, 227, second season, Iowa State)

The Packers were in dire straits in the fourth quarter of their Week 6 game against Detroit. Matt Prater’s 54-yard field goal had given the Lions a 22-13 lead with about 12 minutes remaining. Through three quarters, Aaron Rodgers was 15-of-26 passing for just 136 yards.

With Davante Adams out with a toe injury and the offense going nowhere fast, Rodgers put in a request that changed the fate of the game and the season.

“I asked the receiver coach if 13 could come in for a little bit,” Rodgers said.

The receiver coach was Alvis Whitted and ‘13’ was Lazard. In 17 snaps, Lazard posted team highs of four receptions for 65 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown. Rodgers threw for 147 yards in the fourth quarter alone as Green Bay escaped with a 23-22 victory.

Lazard, who didn’t even make the opening roster out of training camp last season, will enter training camp this season as the presumed front-runner to be the No. 2 receiver opposite Adams. (And Whitted no longer is on the team.)

Lazard caught 35-of-52 passes (67.3 percent) for 477 yards (13.6 average) and three touchdowns. All of that came over 11 games. Projected to 16 games, that works out to 51 receptions, 694 yards and four touchdowns. Of 79 receivers to be targeted 50 times, Lazard ranked 42nd with 1.62 yards per pass route, according to Pro Football Focus. For Rodgers, it’s always about trust. That trust showed on third down. Lazard finished second on the team in third-down receptions (13). He had more third-down catches that resulted in first downs (12) then fellow receivers Geronimo Allison (six) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (five) combined. One of those big third-down plays came in the season finale at Detroit. On third-and-10 from the Lions’ 28, he made a leaping touchdown catch against star corner Darius Slay as Green Bay again rallied past Detroit.

“It starts with his preparation and the way he practices,” Rodgers said after the first Detroit game. “He was definitely a little disappointed to be released at the end of training camp, but he was back with us quickly and never let it affect his performance. I actually sit next to him in the team meetings and we’ve struck up a pretty good friendship. The thing that got me was, which you love as a quarterback, and that’s receivers coming back and telling you he wants the ball and what routes he wants to run. For a young guy to do that, how can you not have confidence in that?”

Lazard’s approach stems from his days at Iowa State. One of the school’s NFL-playing alumni told Lazard that a winning approach on the football field begins with a winning approach to the day. That meant getting up at the same time and making his bed.

“I was like, ‘Well, I’ve never made my bed,’” Lazard said. “What I’ve learned is the small things really help more so on the bigger things. It may just be making my bed … another thing that I do is I always make sure, if someone leaves a bottle in the team meeting room, I always pick it up. One thing (Iowa State coach Matt) Campbell told our team was humility before honor. To me, that means making sure I’m doing all the dirty stuff, making sure I have the humility of picking up someone else’s trash, helping someone else along. Maybe I don’t want to do that – maybe it’s a little more extra effort or time consuming – but I think that, in the end game, plays a big role.”

Why he’s so important: In case you didn’t know, the Packers didn’t draft a receiver in April. The only big addition to the receiver corps was adding Devin Funchess – a talented player with a troubling history of drops – in free agency. Lazard, with a 6-foot-5 frame and 4.55 speed in the 40, figures to open camp as the No. 2 receiver. The question is whether Lazard is a legit No. 2 weapon or if will be the No. 2 by default. 

PACKERS ROSTER COUNTDOWN

Part 1 (87 to 90): FB Elijah Wellman, FB Jordan Jones, G Zack Johnson, S Henry Black

Part 2 (83 to 86): CBs DaShaun Amos, Will Sunderland, Stanford Samuels, Marc-Antoine Dequoy

Part 3 (80 to 82): DT Willington Previlon, RB Damarea Crockett, S Frankie Griffin

Part 4 (77 to 79): G Simon Stepaniak, G Cole Madison, T Cody Conway

Part 5 (76): QB Jalen Morton can throw a football 100 yards

Part 6 (73 to 75) TE James Looney, TE Evan Baylis, RB Patrick Taylor

Part 7 (70 to 72) OLBs Jamal Davis, Randy Ramsey, Greg Roberts

Part 8 (67 to 69) LBs Krys Barnes, Delontae Scott, Tipa Galeai

No. 66: Well-rounded OT Travis Bruffy

No. 65: WR Malik Taylor

No. 64: WR Darrius Shepherd

No. 63: RB Dexter Williams

No. 62: DT Gerald Willis (Note: Released on July 26)

No. 61: ILB Curtis Bolton

No. 60: CB Kabion Ento

No. 59: C Jake Hanson

No. 58: OLB Jonathan Garvin

No. 57: OT John Leglue

No. 56: DT Treyvon Hester

No. 55: WR Darrell Stewart

No. 54: WR Reggie Begelton

No. 53: S Vernon Scott

No. 52: OLB Tim Williams

No. 51: Ka’darHollman

No. 50: G/T Jon Runyan

No. 49: WR Jake Kumerow

No. 48: OT Alex Light

No. 47: TE Robert Tonyan

No. 46: LS Hunter Bradley

No. 45: DT Montravius Adams

No. 44: ILB Kamal Martin

No. 43: OT Yosh Nijman

No. 42: S Will Redmond

No. 41: G/C Lucas Patrick

No. 40: ILB Ty Summers

No. 39: WR Equanimeous St. Brown

No. 38: TE Josiah Deguara

No. 37: RB Tyler Ervin

No. 36: Lane Taylor

No. 35: RB AJ Dillon

No. 34: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

No. 33: DT Tyler Lancaster

No. 32: CB Josh Jackson

No. 31: WR Devin Funchess

No. 30: S Raven Greene

No. 29: TE Marcedes Lewis

No. 28: DT Kingsley Keke

No. 27: ILB Oren Burks

No. 26: P JK Scott

No. 25: QB Tim Boyle

No. 24: OLB Rashan Gary

No. 23: RB Jamaal Williams

No. 22: RG Billy Turner

No. 21: QB Jordan Love

No. 20: TE Jace Sternberger

No. 19: DT Dean Lowry

No. 18: G Elgton Jenkins

No. 17: CB Chandon Sullivan