Packers sign Devin Funchess

[AlexGreen#20]

On 5/2/2020 at 7:48 PM, Arthur Penske said:

Pondered this a bit more, I think he and ESB are going to have a relatively big impact in 2020. He'll run that slant for a lot of TD's with 12.

The QB that throws to the middle of the least is going to start dominating on slants?

[Joe]

1 hour ago, Arthur Penske said:

Small guys like Demarious Randall sure had some issues with the Funchise

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pO2t6kd4W4

Funchess isn't exactly a burner of a receiver, though he ran a 4.48 on his pro day FWIW, so you're going to need a bigger DB or maybe even a versatile ILB to match up with him. I think he'll be a slot/possession type of receiver that'll be used to draw as many mismatches as possible. 

In taking your observation of smaller DB's struggling to cover him, I'm looking at our divisional DB's and a couple players from each team look to match up with him well size-wise. Holton Hill and Cameron Dantzler from Minnesota might be able to match up with him though I could see them sticking Troy Dye on him. Chicago has a couple of guys, but the team lists all their secondary players as DB's and many are very young. Detroit doesn't look to have an answer for him, although looking at the rest of their roster suggests that we may see a lighter DL with their pass-rushers in a wide-9 alignment. As for the non-divisional teams, Atlanta's got a rookie who's 6-3, but only weighs 180 and may not make the team, everyone else on the schedule except for Tennessee, Houston, and New Orleans has similar players. SF naturally has a lot of guys who could match up with him and Philly has Rasul Douglas. You have to wonder, however, who gets the match-up with Funchess and how often he will be on the field.

That said, his best chance to use his size to his advantage would be against New Orleans who already knows him well and has never let him gain more than 60 yards in any one game. I'm not sure he'll have the kind of break-out year a lot of people here think he may have though that's not to say he'll be terrible. I think his body type fits the mold MLF wants out of his receivers and could see him getting extra targets against Philly, N.O., and Tampa Bay; all three of those teams were top-5 rush defense teams last year. Indy and Chicago were top-10 with Tennessee and Minnesota behind them at 12 and 13 respectively. 

[craig]

Hard to guess how many targets there will be.  ~30-35 throws per game, maybe a little less this year if we're going all run heavy, punting a lot, and eating clock so that there just aren't as many plays per game.  Between Adams, the backs, the TE's, and the other WR, how many of those throws per game are likely to Funchess's way?  

Maybe 60-70 targets, optimistically, so will maybe average around 4 per game.  Rodgers accuracy isn't that good anymore, so less than four catchable targets per game, presumably.  Hope he catches an awful lot of those, because opportunities will be limited. Also hope he catches an awful lot of the throws early on, so that Aaron doesn't give up and stop using him.  

Alex is correct, that it will depend in part on whether Rodgers uses the middle of the field.  If not, it's hard to see Funchess being very stats-rich.  

[MacReady]

Track record considered, one of Wagner, Kirksey or Funchess will wildly exceed expectations for us and one of them will be a big dud.

[ThatJerkDave]

11 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

Track record considered, one of Wagner, Kirksey or Funchess will wildly exceed expectations for us and one of them will be a big dud.

I just hope that the wild success is Wagner. 

[Joe]

3 hours ago, craig said:

Hard to guess how many targets there will be.  ~30-35 throws per game, maybe a little less this year if we're going all run heavy, punting a lot, and eating clock so that there just aren't as many plays per game.  Between Adams, the backs, the TE's, and the other WR, how many of those throws per game are likely to Funchess's way?  

Maybe 60-70 targets, optimistically, so will maybe average around 4 per game.  Rodgers accuracy isn't that good anymore, so less than four catchable targets per game, presumably.  Hope he catches an awful lot of those, because opportunities will be limited. Also hope he catches an awful lot of the throws early on, so that Aaron doesn't give up and stop using him.  

Alex is correct, that it will depend in part on whether Rodgers uses the middle of the field.  If not, it's hard to see Funchess being very stats-rich.  

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I agree that Funchess won't get the kind of targets he thinks he may get unless someone else gets hurt. For example, ESB goes down again for whatever reason and I could see him filling that role as well as the role that Alison may have had in the offense.

 

15 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

Track record considered, one of Wagner, Kirksey or Funchess will wildly exceed expectations for us and one of them will be a big dud.

 

3 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

I just hope that the wild success is Wagner. 

I think Wagner and Kirksey will rebound as long as they stay healthy. I wouldn't call Funchess a big dud in that scenario because we showed our hand during the draft and MLF has shown his hand in regards to how the offense is going to be run. Even we pee-ons on this board have all but come to the conclusion that we're going to be a run-first team. So where does Funchess really stand if you look at it that way? Personally, I think Aaron Rodgers at 36 going into 37 is still a better passer than Scam Newton ever was so you'd think there'd be some success there. I'd also hope he would get more targets given the fact that 6 of our games will be played against top-10 run defenses from last season with another 3 against Minnesota and Tennessee who were 12th and 13th in run defense as I pointed out earlier. 

I still believe the Funchess signing was a value signing given what he can give us. He's a big target that can separate with physicality and may press Lazard for targets, but while he has veteran experience on his side Lazard has - and I suspect will maintain - a better rapport with Rodgers though that's not to say Funchess cannot achieve a respectable rapport.

[Fox_NFLs_GG]

18 hours ago, AlexGreen#20 said:

The QB that throws to the middle of the least is going to start dominating on slants?

ESB I thought was considered a boundary WR because his injury.

[{Family Ghost}]

15 hours ago, ThatJerkDave said:

I just hope that the wild success is Wagner. 

Yeah .. that's the big one.  If he comes in and is solid from day one it really solidifies things on the Oline and takes away a potential concern.

Edited May 24, 2020 by {Family Ghost}

[Mr Bad Example]

19 hours ago, craig said:

Hard to guess how many targets there will be.  ~30-35 throws per game, maybe a little less this year if we're going all run heavy, punting a lot, and eating clock so that there just aren't as many plays per game.  Between Adams, the backs, the TE's, and the other WR, how many of those throws per game are likely to Funchess's way?  

Maybe 60-70 targets, optimistically, so will maybe average around 4 per game.  Rodgers accuracy isn't that good anymore, so less than four catchable targets per game, presumably.  Hope he catches an awful lot of those, because opportunities will be limited. Also hope he catches an awful lot of the throws early on, so that Aaron doesn't give up and stop using him.  

Alex is correct, that it will depend in part on whether Rodgers uses the middle of the field.  If not, it's hard to see Funchess being very stats-rich.  

I like him for a 55-800-7 stat line. 

[Arthur Penske]

On 5/23/2020 at 9:08 PM, Outpost31 said:

Track record considered, one of Wagner, Kirksey or Funchess will wildly exceed expectations for us and one of them will be a big dud.

Homer in me wants to say track record will be Kirksey, Wagner, and Funchise being like a bargain bin Z, Preston, and Amos but I’m sure there will be issues.

Not that relevant but exciting to think Funchess is Finley’s size and more athletic 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Arthur Penske

[packfanfb]

16 hours ago, Arthur Penske said:

Homer in me wants to say track record will be Kirksey, Wagner, and Funchise being like a bargain bin Z, Preston, and Amos but I’m sure there will be issues.

Not that relevant but exciting to think Funchess is Finley’s size and more athletic 

Can't see any issues other than injuries, which is the only reason why we got any of those guys on bargain deals. If not injured, Kirksey signs a $10m+ AAV contract this year. If not injured, Funchess signs a $8-10m+ AAV contract this year. If Wagner has an injury-free year like Bulaga just had, Detroit probably never cuts him in the first place, but even if they did, he gets a $10m+ AAV contract this year. 

[ThatJerkDave]

Funchess was on a one year 10 million deal in 2019.  

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/devin-funchess-16764/cash-earnings/

Wagner was cut after year 3 of a 5 year contract.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/ricky-wagner-12450/cash-earnings/

Kirksey was cut after year 3 of a 4 year contract.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/christian-kirksey-14481/cash-earnings/

 

I don't know what the cap situations were, but likely these guys weren't available at all.  

[Shanedorf]

[Shanedorf]

[Shanedorf]