Packers giving Malik Heath all the opportunity in the world vs. Seahawks
Of all the position battles on the Green Bay Packers -and there have been a lot of them- it's the WR6 battle that has really heated up over the last week or so. What's likely to be the final receiver spot is going to come down to either seventh-round rookie, Grant DuBose, or undrafted rookie, […]
Of all the position battles on the Green Bay Packers -and there have been a lot of them- it's the WR6 battle that has really heated up over the last week or so.
What's likely to be the final receiver spot is going to come down to either seventh-round rookie, Grant DuBose, or undrafted rookie, Malik Heath. Right now, Heath appears to be the front runner due to DuBose's late start and because of the simple fact that the UDFA's overall body of work is simply better, at this point.
Heath currently leads the Packers in both receptions (8) and yards (111) through the first two games of the preseason. He's shown up plenty when it comes to his run blocking and, he's logged the third-most special teams snaps (7) among Packers wideouts.
The stats are great, but it's that final number that's most important because anyone fighting for the WR6 job knows it'll come down to whether or not they can be effective on teams. Or even willing to play teams, in some cases.
Fortunately, for Heath, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur plans on giving him plenty of reps in that area on Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks.
"I love his competitive spirit. I love how he goes out there and competes, whether it's in the run game [or] it's in the pass game," LaFleur told reporters Tuesday. "And certainly, we've got to give him more of an opportunity to showcase what he can do on teams. Because, as a young player in this league, many times that's how you get your first crack at it – to build that trust from your teammates [and] from your coaches to go in there and handle more responsibility. But I think in a short period of time, he's done a nice job, but you can never rest easy in this league. You can't you can't take a breath for one second. You got to keep pushing.
"And that's our job to, is to continue to push him. He's still a very young player and he's got a lot to learn, but I think up to this point, he's done a pretty nice job."
There it is. Heath is going to get every opportunity on Saturday to go out and prove he belongs on the Packers roster. Honestly, at this point, he's more likely to make the team if he finishes the game with more special teams tackles than he does receptions. Even though he obviously has plenty of room to grow, he's shown enough in both the receiving game and the run blocking game to warrant a roster spot.
Now, he has to go out on the field and shine in the area that matters most. And sure enough, he'll get plenty of chances to do just that.
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Featured image via Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
