Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The commitment to players like Ervin and Redmond with niche or backup roles on offense and defense shows an appreciation for the strides made under first-year coordinator Shawn Mennenga last season.
Reducing accepted penalties on special teams by more than 60% (from 26 in 2018 to 10 in 2019) was a significant step in its own right. The Packers gave up more long returns than they recorded, but Ervin's December arrival from the waiver wire gave Green Bay a fighting chance to win the return phase late in the year. He averaged 9.6 yards on punts and 26.7 on kickoffs, with a long of 45.
Five of the Packers' top six tacklers on special teams – Redmond, linebackers Oren Burks and Ty Summers, receiver Allen Lazard and running back Jamaal Williams – return in 2020, but more help could be on the way.
Green Bay heads into the draft with five picks in the final two rounds, and special-teams abilities can factor into the decisions with late-round selections. Summers was the Packers' final draft pick last year, in the seventh round at No. 228 overall, yet he had the biggest impact of any rookie on the return and coverage units.
The Packers also could use those multiple sixth- and seventh-round picks to bring in competition for their other two specialists, punter JK Scott and long snapper Hunter Bradley.
A fifth-round pick two years ago, Scott's first two seasons in the NFL have been up and down, with strong starts followed by slumps.