Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers offense looked awful, putting up a grand total of seven points. A big part of the stagnant offense was a simple lack of wide receiving options for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Allen Lazard, the team’s presumed WR1 for the year, ended up missing the game due to an ankle injury. Is Lazard playing this week against the Chicago Bears, and what is the most recent injury update on the Packers WR?
Update: Packers WR Allen Lazard is active and will play tonight against the Bears.
Is Allen Lazard playing on Sunday night?
Two weeks ago, Lazard’s ankle was stepped on during practice. He ended up missing every practice after that and was ultimately ruled out for the team’s game against NFC North rival Vikings. He remained questionable all of this week but was able to participate in three straight practices, although he was still limited.
Even if he is still listed as questionable for the Packers game against the Bears on Sunday night, all signs are pointing to him suiting up. Will he be 100%? That is tough to say, but considering how bad the team’s offense looked without him, even being on the field as a decoy will be better than having him on the sideline.
Fantasy impact of Lazard’s injury
If you look at PFN’s non-PPR WR rankings, Lazard is currently not listed. That being said, if he is announced as active, he will be slotted ahead of all the options behind him. Currently, the highest-ranked WR option in Green Bay is rookie Romeo Doubs at WR55. Behind him is fellow rookie Christian Watson at WR64 and finally Randall Cobb at WR94. Not great.
If Lazard is a surprise inactive, expect these rankings to remain the same. On the positive side, if Lazard is out, the biggest beneficiaries will likely be running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.
Dillon actually led the team in receiving yards last week against the Vikings. With the Packers still trying to figure out what their offense is going to look like without Davante Adams after they traded him in the offseason, Dillon and Jones are two names that Rodgers can continue to rely on.
Jones is currently ranked as RB9 in standard scoring leagues, and Dillon is RB17. The Bears’ defense allowed the 49ers to run all over them last week in a game that was heavily impacted by the weather. Trey Lance and Deebo Samuel both had over 50 rushing yards, with Samuel scoring a touchdown.
None of Green Bay’s WRs had more than 40 receiving yards in their Week 1 loss to Minnesota. If Lazard is out, expect the Packers to rely heavily on their rushing attack.
This might be the case for this Packers team regardless of Lazard’s status simply because of how young the current WR group is. Ultimately, Doubs and Watson are going to need some time to gel with Rodgers.