Packers Josiah Deguara plans to step up to help fill void left by Davante Adams
With All-Pro receiver Davante Adams now a part of the Las Vegas Raiders, the Green Bay Packers are in need of playmakers in the passing game. And one player who is ready to step up and fill the void left by Adams is tight end Josiah Deguara. In a recent interview, the Packers third-year tight end expressed that he is ready for more opportunities in the upcoming season.
“It’s not an elephant in the room, but Davante’s gone,” Deguara said. “All the balls that he got were much deserved, so there’s opportunity for guys to step up, and I’m going to try to be one of those guys. We do a lot of things in this offense to try to be successful. We know we’re going to have to step up. We know we’ve had to step up in the past and we’re going to do it again.”
The Packers selected Deguara in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft and had big plans for him heading into the season. Unfortunately, those plans were not fully implemented after Deguara missed the majority of his rookie campaign with a torn ACL. Last year he was able to play in 16 games for Green Bay, including the playoffs. Deguara finished off the year with a total of 25 catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
Deguara appears ready to help the Packers offense adjust comfortably into an Adam-less era. But first, he must prove it in training camp and in the preseason by beating out last year’s starter at tight end Robert Tonyan for the spot.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Rico Gafford makes position change
The Green Bay Packers have moved lightning-quick wide receiver Rico Gafford to defense where he’ll play cornerback for the upcoming season. The move came as a surprise to Gafford, but after the team selected three wideouts in this year’s NFL Draft and signed Sammy Watkins – the crowded receivers room had to be thinned out.
“No, I didn’t know I was going to corner,” Gafford told Bill Huber of SI.com. “We showed up for offseason workouts, and I was with the receivers, with the offense. I was learning the playbook, doing routes on air and going over certain plays and all that stuff.”
Gafford said he was a defensive back at heart, which makes sense as he was a cornerback at Wyoming. During his tenure, he intercepted two passes as a junior in 2016 and four as a senior the following season. After running a 4.22 in the 40-yard dash, the Tennessee Titans signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018.