How Trevor Davis Fits In Packers Plans

The Green Bay Packers wide receivers have been an early hot topic of conversation among the media and fans.  We've seen the Packers keep six receivers before and there is even talk that they could entertain keeping seven this year.  We know that Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Ty Montgomery, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis are the front runners.  Despite the immense amount of shade being thrown at Adams he would seem to have the benefit of this season to answer his critics.  

Bringing up the bottom of the receiver depth chart currently is rookie Trevor Davis.  The Packers used their fifth round pick on Davis after he ran a 4.42-40 yard dash at this year's NFL Combine.  Not since 2009 have the Packers not kept a draft pick in or above the fifth round on the active roster.  Not impossible that Davis doesn't crack the 53, but not likely.  And with his speed, an attempt to stash Davis on the practice squad will likely lead to several teams scrambling to add him to their depth chart.  

The Packers have established a long history of carrying a wealth of quarterbacks and receivers and that trend looks to continue this season.  While it's fun to debate how the roster may shape out with seven receivers on it, the reality is that injury will likely make this decision for the team before the season starts.  Last year, Jordy Nelson went down for the season before it started.  Rookie Ty Montgomery was lost for the year with a gnarly ankle injury and still hasn't returned to action.  Both Nelson and Montgomery figure to be ready for the start of the season, but the Packers always seem to get creative with injuries when it comes to tough roster decisions and wanting to protect certain players.  There's always the physically unable to perform list as well, which would keep a player off the field for part of, but not all of the season.  Those players don't count against the roster so in the unfortunate case that, say, Montgomery isn't ready to go, the Packers roll with six and Davis is the fifth or sixth guy.

We have read much about the praise being heaped on Jared Abbrederis, who seemed to be the easy choice for "odd man out" when it came to the final receiver depth chart.  That praise, from head coach Mike McCarthy, would indicate that the Packers plan on keeping Abby.  It also leads to the question of how Davis fits into the offense.  The short answer is that he may not.  His contributions this season may be more on special teams as he logs practice time each week and reps to get comfortable in the offense.  McCarthy has a plan and Davis would seem to figure in it, somehow, some way.  If nothing else, that speed would come in handy on kickoff and punt coverage, provided that Davis can fight his way downfield.  On offense, Davis is an ideal fourth or fifth guy in a five-wide set.  His speed alone would either get him in the clear or open up some space for the others.

We'll get more clarity on Davis's role as training camp kicks off and moves along.  Undrafted rookies Herb Waters and Geronimo Allison are also getting some notice in the early goings of the season so the wide receiver position looks to be the hottest battle of them all.  Davis has already received some praise from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which we know is a quick ticket to earning a roster spot and more playing time.  Expect to hear the rookie from Cal's name quite a bit as the team and media look to learn more about how he figures to contribute to the 2016 Packers.

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Jason is a freelance writer on staff since 2012 and also co-hosts Cheesehead TV Live, Pulse of the Pack and Pack A Day podcasts.  You can follow him on Twitter here

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Comments (18)

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NickPerry's picture

June 24, 2016 at 05:56 am

Davis is interesting to me because he had a excellent combine having great times in the 40, vertical, 3 cone, and 60 yard shuttle. He also caught everything thrown his way from what I understand. Most of what I've read so far is he has has excellent "Build-up speed", tracks the ball really well over his shoulder, very quick with good hands are some of the things I've read.
Just about every site I checked said he had trouble beating press coverage so he needs time in the weight room and time to learn.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

June 24, 2016 at 09:46 am

Yet another raw WR. Limited route tree, rounded breaks and can't hit the jets laterally at the stem, better straight line than lateral speed, needs a runway to get up to speed, finesse player in terms of YAC and blocking. Argues that he is not a candidate to play slot. [I would note that his 1.51 10 yard dash and 6.60 3-cone seem to suggest otherwise.] His hands looked better than average to me. The Punt and Kickoff coverage stuff reminds me that he missed 3 games in 2014 with a neck injury.

Build-up speed isn't necessarily the best trait to have in a football player, though it is better to have it than lack speed altogether. EDIT: I've seen it used to mean that some of the long-striders take time to reach their top speed, and in other places that players continue to gain separation well downfield.

Easy candidate for the PS, unless he surprises.

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dobber's picture

June 24, 2016 at 09:11 am

Assuming no other issues at WR, it could be that Davis "suddenly" has a mystery injury that lands him on IR at the end of camp...

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TarynsEyes's picture

June 24, 2016 at 02:45 pm

Build up speed is predicated on the pocket time a QB is given via his offensive line or his scramble ability. One is a question and the other is becoming more risky. : )

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Handsback's picture

June 24, 2016 at 06:48 am

There will be a ton of teams waiting for Green Bay's last cuts this fall for just the WRs that will be available.

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stockholder's picture

June 24, 2016 at 08:10 am

I HOPE Montgomery is ready for the start of the season. (Ankle injuries can end a player's career. ) Sounds like you see Davis as a tactical weapon. Whether its Montgomery's injury or Adams Failure to catch the ball. It looks like TT was right to draft a WR.

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RCPackerFan's picture

June 24, 2016 at 08:49 am

The training camp/preseason battle i'm looking forward to the most is the WR position. If i was going to training camp (not sure if I am). The battle I would watch a lot is the CB vs WR's. That is going to be a fun battle to watch.

I completely agree with this statement in the article. 'While it's fun to debate how the roster may shape out with seven receivers on it, the reality is that injury will likely make this decision for the team before the season starts.'

I think there is a possibility that they keep 7. Keeping 7 WR's may seem like a luxury, but I don't think its anymore of a luxury then it was when they kept 5 TE's one year, and 3 FB's another. That being said though, I do think its more likely that an injury will have them keep 6.

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Ibleedgreenmore's picture

June 24, 2016 at 10:29 am

Lots of choices it should be a very interesting year.

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Bedrock's picture

June 24, 2016 at 10:47 am

There have been many teams keeping basically a return specialist. Green Bay has done it in the past. I was excited for what Abby would add to that mix, but that remains to be seen. Janis is a special teams demon (along with Elliot and Rip). I don't like Cobb returning kicks, just from an injury standpoint. Micah returns punts nicely and seems to have a solid role as a jack-of-all-trades guy. So where does that leave Davis? If he shows in the return game, he has immediate value. Otherwise, given the history of GB WRs, he's going to need time. How do they get him that time? I don't see Janis cut, not because he'll necessarily stay as a WR, but his special teams ability. Abby needs to show a contribution there in a way others can't. Montgomery is likely to be a IR stash, as a hunch, due to the wealth of talent there and the aforementioned need to get Davis time.

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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

June 24, 2016 at 11:14 am

We so rarely go the trade route that it seems like it is never discussed. If Montgomery is healthy, might he fit in the slot allowing Cobb to be trade-bait? He'd probably be the most valuable to other teams and I'm not sure his skills couldn't be replicated by others lower on the depth chart. I'm still undecided on if Cobb is a legitimate game changer or just a nice player to have.

And no, I haven't been drinking this morning (yet).

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TarynsEyes's picture

June 24, 2016 at 11:26 am

" I'm still undecided on if Cobb is a legitimate game changer or just a nice player to have."

A possible way to answer would be to wonder if Jennings would have had as much trouble with Nelson being lost for the season. Injury aside, Cobb still seemed less potent. We all know that Jennings failed after leaving but much of that had to do with the offense, QB and coach in Minn. Just a little food for thought and not a choice of the two. : )

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TKWorldWide's picture

June 24, 2016 at 11:55 am

I think Cobb's contract would make it difficult to trade him.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

June 25, 2016 at 10:52 am

Trading Cobb would incur a $9.75M dead money hit. His cap # is $9.15M this season, resulting in a $600K deduction in the salary cap. If one believes that Monty, Abby (or someone else) can adequately replace Cobb, I suppose Cobb could be traded.

I don't think we'd get a ton for Cobb. Trading him accelerates his guaranteed money onto our cap, making him cheaper for the trade partner by roughly $3.25M per season ($6M cap this yr for the team that got him, $9M in 2017 and 2018).

Just guessing, but maybe we'd get a 3rd or a 4th for Cobb, or perhaps a player. [Mike Wallace, Ben Grubbs, Brandon Marshall were all traded for a 5th.]

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2015-nfl-trades-business-as-usual/

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Firstdown's picture

June 24, 2016 at 11:43 pm

YAC Drop %
9.6 1.85 Trevor Davis
3.4 4.55 Josh Doctson
6.0 5.08 Laquon Treadwell
7.1 8.00 Corey Coleman
6.8 9.00 Will Fuller
Davis is an elite receiver. He put up those impressive numbers while playing the 10th hardest schedule in college football. Ted Thompson is a genius for getting Davis, and for getting him so cheaply. Davis is NOT going on the practice squad. He'd be poached in about 10 seconds. And even if he wasn't, he'd get a new 3 year contract (drafted players have 4 year contracts), and Ted isn't about to lose that 4th bargain year that he has Davis locked into.

And don't forget about Herb Waters. He's a solid, solid receiver. He'll be a tricky one to get onto the practice squad. Once there's some preseason game film on him, some other team might wise up and grab him if we cut him. This may sound strange, but it might be best to cut him as soon as possible, and put him on the practice squad before anyone else realizes how talented he is. Provided that we can, it's a good possibility that Waters will see the field this year.

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jasonperone's picture

June 24, 2016 at 01:49 pm

The Packers have had receivers flash before during offseason and in preseason only to fizzle out and never really catch on anywhere else (Tori Gurley comes to mind, who is now in the CFL). Others: Diondre Borel, Larry Pinkard. They'll likely want to see more from Waters in a live environment before deeming him worthy of more protection and with the expanded roster, there's no reason to remove his ability to be around the team and soak up more reps/knowledge.

The good news about "when it rains, it pours" is that the Packers shouldn't be short on solid options for 12 this season, barring major injuries.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

June 25, 2016 at 11:10 am

I too often have thought that player X would be hard to sneak onto the PS. Within reason, it usually goes off without a hitch.

If I think Davis can be placed on the PS, I have to think Waters is pretty safe to put on the PS (of course, I've just barely even heard of Waters - he's the slot guy with the dropsies and route running issues from Miami). Fast (he'll run faster than he did during his pro day - 4.51 forty - and he can accelerate.

As always, sneaking people onto the PS depends on what they show during the preseason.

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stockholder's picture

June 24, 2016 at 08:31 pm

In 2013, Driver and jennings were gone. Nelson, Cobb, Jones and Finley were the offense. Cobb and Finley went down in October. (IR) Leaving Nelson, jones and guys who never were elite. Nelson was great and Jones made plays. But no one filled the holes last year. Rodgers is no Finley. We counted on Adams and he was well, BS. Jones came back and helped Cobb! The result was double teams and guard Cobb. I'm surprised Cobb got the stats he did. MM had to call the plays! When Cobb got hurt in the playoffs this team was doomed. So this is a new year. The packers have to "Keep" the players that free up Cobb and Nelson. Our Tandems have kept us in the div. hunt. If these players are not going to take the next step. Get rid of them now. Don't waste the time like the 5 TE's, or Wrs that never will be elite. Why do we have to look for hail marries or miracles? I can't see any logic in trading Cobb and Keeping BS.

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Icebowler's picture

June 25, 2016 at 09:35 pm

In addition to Nelson, having Cook will help keep the double teams off of Cobb this year.

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