Green Bay: Moving Forward at WR

Really, there are only two halves to an NFL season. The first 8 games and the second 8 games. Throw away the bye week for the purpose of this blog.

Let's focus on the Packers first 8 games. 6-2. I would say that's pretty good. But if you break down the numbers, quite a bit doesn't jive with the record.
The receivers had a problem this year. A big one. In the first 8 games, Rodgers did a pretty good job of covering for the catching woes. But those last two games exposed GB and their receiving corps.

The second half GB finished 4-4. Not a good record at all. If it wasn't for some late game heroics at Detroit, this would have been 3-5. The entire second half was what the first half should have been: a disappointment.

Now Green Bay is out of contention and they are golfing. So who does this franchise turn to next? Rodgers is set, and Nelson is back. So we know the two number one's.

The issue this year presented itself early on: No receiver on this Nelson-less team is a clear cut number two. In prior years it was either Jennings or Nelson getting other receivers open. The commanding double and sometimes triple coverage created all hell for opposing defenses. That didn't happen this year. Instead, Cobb couldn't get open and Adam's couldn't catch passes.

Richard Rodgers is a decent tight end, but he certainly cannot handle the load that finley once commanded.

Moving forward, the Packers now have a problem. They have many receivers who are not ready to be clear cut number two's but a whole bunch of mid tier receivers. Cobb, Jones, Montgomery, Abberderis, Janis, and Adams.
From that list above, Abberderis is going to have the hardest time making the team. He played well in a handful of games but didn't establish himself.
Jones was the talk of the team the first 6 weeks. But after that, he wasn't the same player. Not knowing his contract situation doesn't help this blog, but I'll assume he's under contract for next season. He's too slow for the number 3 spot but will have trouble establishing himself as the number 4 guy. too much bottom depth.
Cobb is safe. He's not going anywhere but he's been exposed big time. He got a nice contract extension but should be thanking Jordy for this. He wasn't open when he needed to be and couldn't break from receivers. He does have the entire off season to work himself, but that's quite a bit of work.
Adams deserves to be cut. His play declined badly this year. The reality is he gained quite a bit of experience and will most likely headed to the number 3 spot.
Janis will go back to special teams. Again, he gained experience but unless someone can unseat Cobb for the number 2 spot nothing is going well for these players.
Montgomery is the guy that intrigues me the most. He got the short end of the stick early on. Injuries shortened his season. He has a great work ethic, but not quite the talent yet. Assuming Adam's doesn't get cut, I expect Montgomery to work towards the number 3 spot mid season.