Fantasy Football 2013: Looking Ahead; Greg Jennings

By Adam Pfeifer
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

 

While the Green Bay Packers are once again headed towards the playoffs, it has been a bit of a lost season for their Pro Bowl wide receiver Greg Jennings. The 2012 campaign was basically a contract year for Jennings, who will become a free agent in 2013. Unfortunately, a nagging groin injury kept Jennings on the sideline for much of the season.

When Jennings went down opportunity presented itself for guys like Randall Cobb and James Jones. Cobb emerged into quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ clear-cut favorite target while Jones finished with a league-high 14 touchdown grabs. Keep in mind they also have Jordy Nelson, who dealt with a hamstring injury for the latter part of the season. And Jermichael Finley is, well, there. Hey, mother told me if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Anyway, with an embarrassment of riches in the passing game, a question arises. Do the Packers even need to bring back Jennings?

In a short answer, no.

It feels odd to say this, but the Packers don’t necessarily need him to succeed offensively. They still remained an offensive juggernaut without him this season. In fact, Jennings isn’t even confident that he will play in Lambeau next season.

“An educated guess? … I’m gonna lean to the ‘no’ side of it,” Jennings said. “That’s my educated guess, my personal educated guess.”

However, in Week 17, Jennings showed signs of life from fantasy land, providing promise for 2013. Jennings had eight catches for 120 yards and two scores. Sure has been a while since we have seen a stat line like that from Jennings. However, keep in mind that Cobb did not play in this contest. If Jennings lands elsewhere in the off-season, he will remain a top 25 fantasy wide receiver, assuming he has a competent quarterback and stays healthy. Prior to this season, he has clearly proved he is a number one wideout in football.

The Packers meanwhile? Well, Cobb, Jones and Nelson will all be top 30 fantasy wideouts heading into 2013, with Cobb leading the pack. No pun intended.

Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy football columnist for Rant Sports.

You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.

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