Although most offenses want a small, quick receiver to play in the slot, the offense Matt LaFleur is bringing to the Green Bay Packers probably doesn’t need a Randall Cobb-like player.
In fact, it likely needs a player a lot like Geronimo Allison.
Consider the last three slot receivers used most frequently in LaFleur-involved offenses: Mohamed Sanu, Cooper Kupp and Tajae Sharpe.
Sanu is 6-2 and ran 4.67. Kupp is 6-2 and ran 4.62. Sharpe is 6-2 and ran 4.55.
Allison is 6-3 and ran 4.67.
LaFleur’s offense doesn’t require the traditional mold of a slot receiver. It just needs an intelligent player, and Allison fits the mold.
“I think a slot, especially with what we want to do, has to have some good instincts, and really you want a smart player that you can call choice routes with and it takes smart players to do that,” LaFleur said in March.
Allison is a sponge for information and a diligent worker, molded by three years of sharing a room with the likes of Jordy Nelson, Cobb and Davante Adams. He’s tough and sure-handed, and he’s earned himself the trust of quarterback Aaron Rodgers with day-to-day consistency and the reliability needed in the next Packers slot receiver.
Allison even has experience playing in the slot. According to ESPN, Allison lined up in the slot on roughly 44 percent of his career receptions, and Rodgers was highly complimentary of Allison’s work in the slot while Cobb was out during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
He was well on his way to a breakout year in 2018 before a season-ending core muscle injury sent him to injured reserve after only five games. He returned on a one-year deal in 2019.
The Packers had opportunities in the draft to take a bigger slot receiver such as N’Keal Harry and A.J. Brown but ultimately passed, which should be seen as a vote of confidence in Allison’s ability to handle the role in 2019.
Sanu, Kupp and Sharpe don’t fit the small, shifty profile of most slot receivers, but they gave LaFleur’s offenses a combination of size, reliability, toughness and intelligence on the inside. Allison has all the same traits, and he’ll likely be first in line to become the Packers’ next go-to receiver in the slot in 2019.
