Aaron Rodgers: Allen Lazard ascending for Packers
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard is an "ascending player," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.
“By the end of the season, he was called upon many, many times in important situations to make big plays and he did,” Rodgers said of Lazard. “He’s just a great teammate, and ascending player, loved his approach every week and he made some big-time plays for us.” It's rare praise from the two-time league MVP, who is known for giving his pass-catchers a cold shoulder. Lazard, a 2018 undrafted free agent, finished with the second-most receiving yards (477) behind Davante Adams (997) last year. He averaged 3.2 catches for 43.4 yards on 4.7 targets over the final 11 weeks of the regular season after only playing 21 snaps in the first five games. Lazard could potentially compete with offseason addition Devin Funchess for the Packers' second receiving job opposite Adams. Marquez Valdes-Scantling seems poised to open the year at no better than fourth in the pecking order.
numberFire's models project Lazard for 57.1 targets, 34.4 receptions, 480.3 yards, and 2.8 touchdowns. He's the WR76 in our preseason fantasy rankings. Lazard ranked 15th in numberFire's advanced per-target receiving metric out of 81 receivers with at least 50 targets last season.
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