The 90 to 1 Green Bay Packers roster countdown: No. 19

The Green Bay Packers, and their 90 players on the roster, are in the midst of their first training camp under coach Matt LaFleur. In an annual tradition from my 11 years at Packer Report, I rank the players in order of importance from No. 90 to No. 1. This isn’t just a listing of the team’s best players. Our rankings take into account talent, importance of the position, depth at the position, salary and draft history. More than the ranking, we hope you learn something about each player. (Note: The start of this series can be found with my former employer.)

No. 19: WR Geronimo Allison ($2,456,250 cap)

In the first four games of last season, Allison recorded 19 receptions for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Extrapolate that over the 16-game season, and Allison was on pace for 76 receptions, 1,156 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 15.2 yards per catch and caught 66.7 percent of targeted passes. However, a core-muscle injury resulted in season-ending surgery.

That was enough for the Packers to give Allison a one-year deal worth $2.8 million – a significant increase over the restricted free-agent tender of $2.144 million.

“He was on a heck of a pace to have a really good year,” first-year coach Matt LaFleur said. “And I love the way the G-Mo goes about his business. He’s got some versatility because you look at his size as more of a traditional outside receiver. But he’s got the short-area quickness where we can out him inside and use him in the slot.”

Now, can Allison produce over the 16-game haul? The door is open with the free-agent departure of Randall Cobb and no significant additions to the receiver corps.

“I think Geronimo had a great training camp and, obviously, a good start to the season against Chicago, a nice catch and run in Washington. Unfortunate injury in practice,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “But he’s the kind of guy you love having around. You can’t have enough G-Mos around. He practices like he’s going to get cut every single day. He just has this urgency about him where he’s trying to show up every single day. And the best players that we’ve had in this locker room have on some level that type of urgency where they approach practice as if they have something to prove that day. What can they show on film – to themselves and to the guys watching the film, how much they’ve become or what they’re working on – and G-Mo’s that type of guy.”

With Davante Adams locked in at one receiver spot, the second spot in the lineup will be a battle headlined by Allison and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. It will be interesting to see the direction of LaFleur’s offense. Will he lean on three-receiver packages, like former coach Mike McCarthy did over the years? If so, it probably will be MVS and Allison rather than MVS or Allison. Without Cobb, there is a void in the slot. Allison lined up in the slot on only 11.2 percent of his snaps last season but was a much bigger factor inside in 2017 (40.6 percent; 11 receptions) and as a rookie in 2016 (63.0 percent; 10 receptions).

“He’s the guy who’s been working a lot in the slot and he’s used to playing a little more outside, but this is making him a little more dynamic,” Adams said. “And I think Matt has challenged him to widen it out so he can play multiple spots. With Quez playing outside a lot, it gives him the opportunity to get in there and work that and get the package with me and G-Mo out there. He’s got a lot of tools. Him being able to move around right now and be healthy, be himself and just play, it’s going to be dangerous.”