Forgotten Packers player on track for big role in 2023
There's plenty of intrigue surrounding the Green Bay Packers roster and it's for good reasons – the team is loaded with young talent that has a very high ceiling. Meaning, this team can surprise a lot of people if they can put it all together. A lot of the excitement has centered around Jordan Love, […]
There's plenty of intrigue surrounding the Green Bay Packers roster and it's for good reasons – the team is loaded with young talent that has a very high ceiling.
Meaning, this team can surprise a lot of people if they can put it all together.
A lot of the excitement has centered around Jordan Love, Christian Watson/Romeo Doubs, and the first four picks of the draft class. Two of those picks, rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, are going to be relied upon in big ways this year and how they play will factor into whatever success (or failures) the Packers offense experiences.
But there's one guy in the tight end room many people have forgotten about for whatever reason and that's fourth-year Josiah Deguara, a former third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Deguara is easily the most experienced tight end on the roster and he's been in Matt LaFleur's system for the entirety of his career. He was seen rotating with the 1s during the first training camp practice, but it's Deguara's abilities as an H-back that will pave the way for him to carve out a nice role.
"I love having Josiah in front of me," star running back Aaron Jones told reporters Wednesday. "He opens up things and he'll run through a wall for me; but not just me, it's any other backs he's lined up in front of. We know when he's in front of us, he's clearing out the way or he's coming back and kicking out a defensive end. We know that gap is going to be there and he's going to get his job done.
"I love running behind Josiah and he's truly developed into a leader, as well."
Deguara has seen his backfield snaps increase almost two-fold each year he's been in the league. He lined up behind Aaron Rodgers just 17 times in 2020, but that number jumped to 44 in 2021 and then to 78 in 2022, per Pro Football Focus. Last year, he registered at least one snap each week in the backfield, including nine snaps in one game on three different occasions.
With the Packers offense as versatile as ever in 2023, it makes sense to add another chess piece into the mix. As we all know, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur hails from the Kyle Shanahan tree and we've seen how much success the San Francisco 49ers offense has had with Kyle Juszczyk, so it's a logical assumption the Packers can successfully utilize an H-back if they desire.
No one is saying Deguara will reach Juszczyk-type levels of success, but there's plenty of momentum and reason to keep giving him these opportunities based off what we've seen in the past.
In all, Deguara adds yet another wrinkle to this offense, which will certainly come in handy as the unit establishes its identity in 2023.
Top moments from Packers’ first training camp practice
There’s a lot to chew on and it’s only the first practice of Packers training camp.
Featured image via Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
