The injuries kept piling up for the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. Robert Tonyan and Kylin Hill tore their ACLs and are out for the rest of the season. Green Bay seldom used Hill within the offense, but he was the primary kick returner. Tonyan was the top tight end and, although the numbers were down this year compared to last season, he’s an integral part of the operation.
With Tonyan now out for the year and the Nov. 2 trade deadline looming, the best route is to unleash Josiah Deguara.
Deguara is in his second year after being selected in the third round in 2020. The concern with putting more on Deguara’s plate stems from the injury bug. He tore his ACL early in his rookie season and already missed a game earlier this year with a concussion. But Tonyan went down with a season-ender himself. If they put their faith in Deguara to carry much of the workload the rest of the way, Green Bay will certainly be keeping their fingers crossed that he remains healthy. It’s worth the risk.
The alternatives for the Packers would be to explore the trade market. There the only semi-realistic option that exists is Evan Engram. However, Engram is constantly in and out of the New York Giants lineup with injuries and having a tight end who can block is critical in Matt LaFleur’s offense. Deguara does an excellent job at this. Engram is so-so. He’s better known for his skill set as a receiving tight end.
It was just back in August that LaFleur raved about how Deguara looked in camp as he continued to rehab from last year’s torn ACL. The roadblock was that as good as Deguara may have looked to the head coach, he was still in the back of the pecking order behind Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. Now, he’ll likely see a significant uptick in opportunity in Tonyan’s absence. Green Bay’s offense has plenty of stars but needs consistent play at tight end.
While it’s true that this offense revolves around two primary playmakers in Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, the tight end spot as a whole is exceptionally valuable in LaFleur’s scheme. Lewis does so much that doesn’t show up in the box score, and it’s part of the reason the team goes wild whenever he hauls in a catch and gets involved in the receiving game. For Tonyan, the targets may not have been as high as he had hoped through eight games. But he kept grinding away and paved plenty of lanes for the running game for guys like Jones and AJ Dillon. It won’t be easy to fill in for Deguara, and LaFleur knows how important Tonyan was.
“He means so much to this team,” said Matt LaFleur following the Packers win in Arizona. “It’s so cool, I just told him, to watch a guy when you first get here and see the amount of progress that he’s made as a player and the work that he puts in on a daily basis. It’s really cool when you see that progress and you see a guy reach their potential. And I still think there’s more out there for him.”
The run-blocking aspect for Deguara shouldn’t skip a beat. Green Bay has lined him up in the traditional tight end spot on the end of the line, but they also line Deguara up at the H-back spot. The Packers have used him at the fullback spot as well, albeit sparingly. The emphasis on his role back at the tight end spot specifically for the running game won’t be an issue — he excels at that.
The interesting angle to see develop for the second-year tight end is the receiving side of things. Tonyan was good at taking at least some of the attention off of Adams. He consistently made plays and knew where to be when Rodgers needed an outlet. Conversely, Deguara has five total catches in his career up to this point. A lot of that is a product of limited opportunities. It’s not as though this will be a bulletproof plan for the Packers, but it beats out almost any alternatives. When you take a tight end in the third round, isn’t the idea at some point to find out what he can bring to the table?
Deguara has done well when he’s played this year, and it seems to be a fair assumption that he’s earned a crack at this gig. Green Bay isn’t in a trial-and-error phase of the season. They are in the middle of competing for home-field advantage again in the NFC. However, look around at some of the other storylines that have unraveled on this roster this year.
Eric Stokes has become the primary cornerback for the Packers as a rookie due to all the injuries. He’s been spectacular, and even when Jaire Alexander and Kevin King return, Stokes will undoubtedly have the No. 2 spot locked down over King.
Rasul Douglas was on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad three weeks ago. He just picked off Kyler Murray on Thursday night to seal the win for Green Bay. In that same game, Deguara had two catches for 20 yards on two targets.
Players for Green Bay have stepped up and delivered when they’ve needed to this year. Deguara is the latest who will see more trust and a heavier responsibility laid onto his lap. It’s time for Green Bay to unleash him and see what they have.
