The Packers have signed Jared Cook, a rare dip into the waters of free agency by general manager Ted Thompson. It's a move which has some potential, both for the team and the player.
Cook was largely a disappointment with the Rams, but he didn't work with a lot of great quarterbacks, and he usually shared numbers with Lance Kendricks. In Green Bay, he could split production with Richard Rodgers, but at least he'll be working with a top-level quarterback.
Over the last seven years, the Packers have annually had strong production from the tight end position. Sometimes numbers have been split between a tandem, sometimes there's been one main guy. With Cook, it remains to be seen if the team will use him as a full-time receiver or use him in a tandem with Rodgers. If he gets the majority of the work, though, he could be a viable starter in fantasy leagues.
Production from Green Bay's main tight ends since 2009 is shown below. Had Jermichael Finley been able to stay healthy, he'd have been a solid starter in many of those years; as it turned out, he played part of a couple of those seasons, with other guys filling in. In any case, there's potential for Cook to be that player.
| GREEN BAY TIGHT ENDS, 2009-2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tight ends | No | Yards | TD |
| 2009 | Finley//Lee | 92 | 936 | 6 |
| 2010 | Finley/Quarless/Lee | 53 | 612 | 5 |
| 2011 | J.Finley | 55 | 767 | 8 |
| 2012 | J.Finley | 61 | 667 | 2 |
| 2013 | Quarless/Finley | 57 | 612 | 5 |
| 2014 | R.Rodgers/A.Quarless | 49 | 548 | 5 |
| 2015 | Richard Rodgers | 58 | 510 | 8 |
--Andy Richardson