Allen Lazard is a solid receiver, no doubt. But, he's no Hall of Famer.
Aaron Rodgers referred to Lazard as a Hall of Famer when asked about the transition from Davante Adams to Lazard as the first option this season. Yet, he was simply joking about Adams saying he was doing the same from Rodgers to Derek Carr by using his exact line.
“I mean it’s always tough going from Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer," Rodgers said. "From Davante [Adams] to Allen [Lazard], it’s gonna be a transition, but he’s capable of a lot.”
Rodgers clearly has an issue with Adams suggesting Carr is a Hall of Famer -- a take likely plenty of people would disagree with. Yet, he used it to suggest the same logic for his future number one receiver.
Last season, Lazard got into the endzone eight times, which is fairly impressive while working alongside Adams. Nevertheless, he received just 60 targets and made 513 yards out of them.
He's only been in the league three years, but last season was his first year catching for over 500 yards. Adams had more receiving yards last season than Lazard has in his career. His catch rate is also underwhelming, coming in at 67 percent.
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The Bears have a similar situation at the wide receiver core. Allen Robinson left to join the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, leaving third-year receiver, Darnell Mooney, at the driver's seat.
In contrast, Mooney is already an established receiver in the league. While catching for just half of the touchdowns Lazard did last season, he plucked out over 1,000 receiving yards in just his second season. To add to that, he accomplished that feat between a rookie quarterback (Justin Fields) and a lowly veteran (Andy Dalton).
The Packers are in an interesting position without Adams. They're left with Lazard, Christian Watson and Sammy Watkins. Yes, they have Robert Tonyan to catch passes too. But, Adams racked up 169 targets last season as the most dominant offensive weapon in the league.
It's tough to lose a large piece of the offense and expect to return to the same output.
The matchup between Lazard and Jaylon Johnson will certainly be a fun one to spectate come the two matchups between the Bears and the Packers this season.
"The way things have gone with the reps and the guys that we've had here and the targets we've doled out, he hasn't had a lot of opportunities," Rodgers said. "Since his first day here, he's turned heads."