The Green Bay Packers are in a tough spot. Yes, they currently have a winning record of 3-2. However, there is a concern if this team can even make the playoffs at this point. While both sides of the ball have issues, it would appear to some that personnel may be the issue on the offensive side of the ball. As Ben Solak so diligently pointed out, the offense has the scheme, but not the players. Two Panthers wideouts, DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson could help with that.
Rodgers’s completion percentage has plummeted while his inaccurate pass rate has leaped—EPA per dropback and success rate both show that his efficiency in these areas of the field is way down.
This falling off shouldn’t come as a surprise. Not only is Davante Adams gone—and Adams was perhaps the league’s most dominant receiver on vertical routes and back-shoulder balls—but field-stretcher Marquez Valdes-Scantling is no longer taking snaps along the outside and challenging defensive backs one-on-one. The dropoff in wide receiver play contributes to the falling off of the numbers, as an outside ball to Randall Cobb or Allen Lazard is simply less likely to be completed or valuable than one to Adams.
This certainly brings up the idea of adding another wide receiver, or two. Insiders identified both DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson as affordable options for the Packers to target.
Panthers’ DJ Moore and/or Robbie Anderson to Green Bay?
According to Cody Benjamin with CBS Sports, the Packers were quickly rumored as a possibility to land Panthers wide receiver DJ Moore in a trade:
If not now, when? That’s surely what Aaron Rodgers is thinking, regarding the Packers’ opportunity to get him a bona fide No. 1 for what might be his final run. Green Bay has felt the effects of Davante Adams’ departure during its sluggish 3-2 start, and it’s not as if Moore profiles as a rental to be regretted later, either. He’d instantly make the rest of the receiving corps better, shifting them down the depth chart, and provide Matt LaFleur with a Pro Bowl-caliber weapon with or without Rodgers down the road.
Analyst Peter Bukowski brought up the Robbie Anderson idea on social media. He speculated that the Green Bay Packers could make a move for Anderson on one condition. If their young wide receiver core couldn’t make more of the opportunities coming their way. So far the passing game has certainly been hit or miss, at best.
“Robbie Anderson is almost a $22M cap hit next season in Carolina. The Panthers’ the season is already over. The Packers have tried to trade for Anderson before and were reportedly interested in signing him as a free agent. He’s under $9M in 2023 too.”
As Ken Ingalls pointed out, DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson are both viable options for the Packers:
Yes – Packers have enough cap space to trade for Robbie Anderson, DJ Moore, or even both this year. They are cheap to acquire as only their minimum base salaries would transfer.
The big issue is trading produces $19.4M and $14.6M respectively of dead cap for Carolina next year. https://t.co/BubSznNU3z
— Ken Ingalls – Packers Cap 💰 (@KenIngalls) October 11, 2022
The Packers are certainly in a position to make a move for a wide receiver. It makes sense logistically, which is often the biggest hurdle. However, it also makes sense for on-field production. If I am Brian Gutekunst, I am certainly making this call to inquire on DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson.
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