Packers Reload with Tight End Duo
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On the second and third day of the 2017 NFL free agency period, the Green Bay Packers signed tight ends Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks. The addition of this tight end duo is a step toward reloading the Packers’ offense, much to the appreciation of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who sought to add more experience to Green Bay’s passing game for the upcoming season.
Bennett, 30, is coming off of a Super Bowl LI victory in his lone season with the New England Patriots. He caught 55 passes for 701 yards and seven touchdowns from quarterback Tom Brady during the regular season while adding 11 more receptions in the postseason.
Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2008, Bennett learned from All-Pro tight end Jason Witten while developing his blocking skills and hauling in passes from quarterback Tony Romo in his first four NFL seasons. Bennett’s departure for the New York Giants in 2012 saw the tight end break out as a pass-catcher with 55 receptions for 626 yards and five touchdowns. His stay with the Giants lasted just one season. Bennett signed with the Bears in 2013 and totaled receptions of 65, 90 and 53 in his three seasons in Chicago.
Entering his 10th season, Bennett will have played for future Hall of Famers in quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers along with notable All-Pro quarterbacks in Eli Manning and Tony Romo. This equates to Bennett bringing in a wealth of knowledge and experience at the tight end position for the Packers.
Joining Bennett as a free agent signing is Lance Kendricks, who will enter his seventh NFL season. In contrast to Bennett’s journeyman career, Kendricks has only played for one NFL team, the Rams. Playing in St. Louis from 2011-15 before the team’s move to Los Angeles in 2016, Kendricks turned in one of his strongest receiving performances last season with 50 receptions for 499 yards.
Kendricks, a Milwaukee native, returns to his home state of Wisconsin, where he played four seasons of collegiate football for the Wisconsin Badgers before being drafted in the second round by the Rams.
Kendricks comes to Green Bay after the exit of his former Rams teammate Jared Cook, who left the Packers in free agency after failing to reach a contract agreement with the team, electing later to sign with the Oakland Raiders. Cook played with Kendricks in St. Louis from 2013-15. In their three seasons together, Kendricks and Cook hauled in 83, 79 and 64 receptions together for the Rams.
A dynamic tight end can truly transform an offense and their impact is known far more than what receiving statistics can show. The tight end position requires that of a hybrid player, one who has the size, strength and technique to block while having the speed and receiving ability to release from the line of scrimmage and catch the ball, often in high-traffic areas. What’s more, a standout tight end forces defenses to focus attention on the center of the field, allowing more opportunities for wide receivers to have one-on-one match-ups.
Rodgers will be pleased to have a pair of mid-range receiving threats while Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb will seek to capitalize on more big play opportunities. The Packers’ running game will also see a boost with the size of Bennett (6-6, 275) and Kendricks (6-3, 250).
Since Green Bay’s resurgence in the early 1990s, the Packers have had a number of quality tight ends, often in pairs, which contributed to the passing threats of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
During the Favre era, he had the duo of Ed West and Jackie Harris during his first two seasons. West and Harris combined for 126 receptions for 1,482 yards and six scores from 1992-93.
As West and Harris ended their careers in Green Bay, Mark Chmura’s began to take off. Joining “Chewy” in 1995 was Keith Jackson. The Chmura-Jackson duo in 1996 helped Green Bay to a Super Bowl XXXI title with Jackson bringing in 10 touchdowns that season. In their two seasons together, they amassed 135 receptions for 1,696 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The latter part of the ’90s saw Chmura’s career come to a close while Bubba Franks began his eight-year stint in Green Bay. Franks proved to be a viable passing threat for Favre in the red zone and was joined throughout the decade by fellow tight ends Tyrone David, David Martin and Donald Lee.
However, in the last 10 years, Green Bay has seen tight ends come and go more regularly since the departure of Bubba Franks in 2007. Since then, hopes of a successful career for Jermichael Finley faded due to an injury and led way to short-term solutions in tight ends such as Spencer Havner, Andrew Quarless, Tom Crabtree and most recently, Richard Rodgers and Jared Cook.
Richard Rodgers, who posted 58 receptions for 510 yards in 2015, will find himself in the position battle with the two newcomers that were brought in to revitalize the Packers’ offense. The Packers look to find more than a temporary solution to their tight end concerns. The tight end position is sure to be a focal point for the Packers to analyze during the coming months and into training camp.
