The Green Bay Packers main philosophy is the "draft and develop". Sometimes, everyone forgets about the development part of the strategy. While the Packers add new pieces to the roster, it's as important to count on young players to improve - the clear recent example is Rashan Gary, who had a leap in production last season after two uninspiring years.

Moreover, the Packers have many young players. In theory, it's more realistic to expect a growth from them, be it for personal development or for better/bigger usage. So, let's talk about five players who need to get better for the Packers to have a successful season in 2022.

Allen Lazard
Lazard is still relatively young: 26 years old, with four total (and three accrued) seasons in the NFL. Now, he has the biggest challenge of his professional career. After losing Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the Packers count on Lazard to be the most productive receiver — at least to start the season, when Christian Watson will be in the early stage of his development and Sammy Watkins will be trying to find his connection with Aaron Rodgers.

"Excited about Allen Lazard," Aaron Rodgers said during mandatory minicamp. "He's been our dirty work guy for most of his career here. Now he's getting an opportunity to be a number 1 receiver. So, I'm not worried at all about him stepping into that role."
 

Lazard, in fact, already had a leap last season after two balanced years in 2019 and 2020. He produced career highs in yards (513) and touchdowns (8, more than the rest of his entire career combined). But now the demand is higher, and the opportunity will be, too. 

AJ Dillon
It's natural for a running back to suffer a decline in efficiency when the volume is higher, especially with so many injury issues on the offensive line as the Packers had in 2021. And AJ Dillon suffered it, going from 5.3 yards per carry in 2020 to 4.3 in 2021. This season, it's realistic to expect that Dillon will be the primary ball-carrier for Green Bay, because Aaron Jones will be heavily involved in the passing attack. If he's able to keep or increase his volume and be more efficient on a play-by-play basis, he could become an elite running back and exactly what the Packers hoped for when they took him in the second round of the draft two years ago.

"I thought we mixed him (Dillon) in a decent amount last year, but apparently not enough. He is a premier back,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. "I think AJ is just kind of scratching the surface of what he can become."

Last season, Dillon had 1,116 total yards and eight total touchdowns. Don't be shocked if he surpasses those numbers in 2022.

Josiah Deguara
Deguara is going into his third year in the NFL, and that's generally when tight ends start to figure it out in the transition process from college. Furthermore, he had no preseason, a shortened training camp and lost most of his rookie season because of the pandemic and a knee injury, and last training camp he was still recovering. Therefore, this year will be his first normal preseason since he entered the league. Deguara is a different player than Robert Tonyan and Tyler Davis, so he's the best option to the h-back role, so important to Matt LaFleur's offensive scheme. Deguara had 245 yards and two touchdowns last season, which is not bad for a third tight end, but his ability to generate yards after reception will be more important in 2022.

Darnell Savage
The Packers invested heavily in Darnell Savage, trading one first and two fourth-round draft picks to select him in 2019, and this offseason they picked up his fifth-year option. It's clear how much the front office likes and values him, but it's also evident that Savage had some ups and downs during his time in Green Bay. Last season was a down year, and now he has a new chance to adapt to defensive coordinator Joe Barry's system. If Savage is able to step up, he'll round out an extremely talented and promising young secondary. Moreover, this is the last year of Adrian Amos' contract, so Savage's role moving forward might be even bigger.

Randy Ramsey/Jonathan Garvin
The Packers cut Za'Darius Smith for salary cap reasons, and haven't added any experienced edge rusher. While they drafted Kingsley Enagbare, it's unfair to expect significant production from a fifth-round rookie. Therefore, any of the older backups needs to solidify himself as a third edge. Maybe it's Jonathan Garvin, who had a similar role last season (he finished the year with 1.5 sacks), or maybe it's Randy Ramsey, who lost the 2021 season with a significant leg injury and has been praised by Brian Gutekunst. Off-ball linebacker Quay Walker might be used as an edge from time to time, but it's essential to have a player from the position and with more NFL experience to create a strong edge rotation.

Photo: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports