Tory Humphrey: 11 catches, 162 yards, 14.7 average
Humphrey emerged as a serviceable second option at tight end last season after missing 2007 with a broken leg. Until 2008 he was solely a special teams contributor.
He is young enough he could develop a bit, and he is big (6'2", 255 pounds) and strong. He does well as a blocker in jumbo sets and has decent hands, but the reality is the 2005 free agent is not very athletic and not likely to ever be an impact player.
Ruvell Martin: 15 catches, 149 yards, 9.9 average, 1 TD
Martin is a very solid receiver and deserves better than to be stuck on the Packers, where he is going to be fifth on the depth chart. Even though Green Bay occasionally uses a five-receiver package, the injury to Jones gave Martin a chance to show a little more of what he could do.
He has good hands and runs decent routes. He is the Packers biggest receiver at 6'4", 220 pounds, and it makes him a good target in traffic, such as in the red zone. But his speed is lacking and he also does not have the agility to shake defenders.
On most teams he would be a decent third receiver, but for Green Bay he will only get to face other teams' "quarter" defenses (seven defensive backs) in the five receiver set. While he will overmatch anyone's fifth cornerback, he will never be a major part of the game plan.
JerMichael Finley: 6 catches, 74 yards, 12.3 average, 1 TD
The Packers are certainly hoping the 2008 third-round pick from Texas will be their go-to tight end, because he has the physical tools. At 6'5" and 247 pounds, he is big, but he also has pretty good speed and agility.
He still has to work on consistency with his hands, but has the capability of making tough catches, especially near the goal line. Right now, his route running is the major problem, but that will improve as he gets more experienced.
Grade for 2008: B+
Only the Arizona Cardinals have a deeper wide receiving corps, and only they and New England also had two 1000-yard receivers. No team had more than seven tight ends and wide receivers catching a touchdown pass. The Packers are consistently among the best teams in the league in yards after the catch.
The only thing keeping this unit from a higher grade was the tight end position. All three tight ends managed a combined 56 catches for 539 yards and six scores. There were eight individual tight ends with at least that many catches and six with at least that many scores; there were 13 with more yards.
Grade for the future: A-
The Packers are set for years to come at the wide receiver position. Granted, Donald Driver is on the down-side of his career, but he still has a couple years left, and the other three marquee wide receivers are 25 or under.
The tight end position is still less than secure: Finley may well be the answer, but that is not certain. If not, Lee might still develop into a solid starting tight end, but will probably not be a prime option in his career.
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