The Packers' passing game will remain egalitarian … until someone forces their hand

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur says he doesn't plan to force-feed targets to one receiver. He probably won't until one of his players leaves him with no other choice.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has fielded questions about how he uses his pass catchers for multiple seasons now. While his apparent frustration with the topic has subsided -- he no longer claims it makes him nauseated -- his stance on the matter remains largely the same.

“I mean, it just is what it is, guys,” LaFleur said following last Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. “I know everybody wants us to force-feed guys the ball. But it’s really not how we’ve done it around here, and I don’t plan on changing that.”

In the five games the Packers have played so far this season, four different players have led the team in receiving yards. Two of them don’t even play wideout, with tight end Tucker Kraft delivering a six-catch, 124-yard performance in Week 2 and running back Josh Jacobs compiling 71 receiving yards in Green Bay’s final contest before the bye. Entering Week 7, fewer than 100 yards separate the team’s leading pass catcher from its fourth most-productive receiver.

Spreading the ball around hasn’t dampened the aerial attack, however. The offense currently ranks top 10 in passing DVOA and top 10 overall. The unit has also produced the league’s second highest dropback EPA per play (0.326). As a direct result, Green Bay currently boasts the No. 3 overall EPA per play (0.182) and the NFC’s highest success rate (50.2%). Even traditional metrics like total offense and points scored say the Packers rate as a top 10 offensive team.

And the Packers have yet to take the field with their full arsenal in any game this year. Christian Watson, their most explosive playmaker, officially remains on injured reserve as he works his way back from a torn ACL. Meanwhile, the team’s leading receiver in each of the past two seasons, Jayden Reed, hasn’t played since fracturing his collarbone during the first quarter of Week 2. Green Bay expects him back sometime in November.

It appears that once Watson and Reed return to the fold, the Packers’ passing game will grow even more egalitarian, not less.

“That’s the beauty of having a lot of guys that we have a lot of confidence in,” LaFleur said. “We have confidence that we can put anybody in the situation and try to have plays off of plays. A lot of it is dictated by the coverage, however teams are playing us, and the quarterback’s role is just to make sure the ball’s going to the right place based on what the defense presents. Whoever gets those catches, they get them.”

In all likelihood, LaFleur’s assertions about the passing game will hold, at least until someone forces his hand.