Green Bay Packers 2015 Impact Meter: WR Jeff Janis

As the Green Bay Packers entered their second week of the 2015 preseason, wide receiver Jeff Janis was still on the roster bubble, competing with players such as Jared Abbrederis and Myles White to earn a roster spot. 

Now, however, Janis has become important for the Packers offense. 

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed Monday that Jordy Nelson will be out for the season after tearing his ACL on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a non-contact injury.

Let's break down the increased role that Green Bay's second-year receiver could play in the Packers receiving corps in 2015. 

2014 in Review

Snaps	Receptions	Yards	TDs
15	2	16	0

Janis had only 15 snaps in 2014, per Pro Football Focus, and two receptions for 16 yards. The 2014 seventh-round draft selection was neither needed nor expected to make an impact on the offense his rookie season, and despite a promising preseason showing, he wasn't ready to do so. 

Janis developed somewhat of a cult following and earned recognition in the 2014 preseason with flashy plays. While he missed the beginning of training camp with shingles, Janis made up for it early on in his return to practice. 

As ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky put it at the time: "On his first day as a full participant, he snagged a one-handed catch for a touchdown over cornerback Sam Shields. From there, not a practice went by that Janis didn't make an eye-catching play."

Some of those plays included a leaping sideline catch over cornerback Casey Hayward with remarkable effort to stay in bounds, a blazing-fast 30-yard touchdown run in the preseason against the St. Louis Rams and another touchdown catch against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 of the preseason. 

When the regular season opened, however, Janis didn't get on the field until Week 4 against Chicago—with only one snap at that as he came in for Jarrett Boykin. He got another chance late in Week 5 against Minnesota, the game in which he caught his two passes of the season as the Packers pulled away with a 30-plus point lead. 

Janis didn't get any playing time toward the end of the season, but head coach Mike McCarthy revealed at the NFL combine in February that Janis was essentially ready to go after Thanksgiving, per Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin:

"

I thought probably after Thanksgiving, I thought Jeff really picked it up [in practice]. He was more comfortable, and so I look for him to take a step. He’s got to play with extension. That’s the one thing he has to do a better job of. But you can see it on the scout team, and at the end of the year he was running some really good routes. Really good routes.

"

Building chemistry with Aaron Rodgers was also an essential part of Janis' development, and comments he has made this offseason suggest he and his quarterback weren't quite there last season. 

"I think the biggest thing with Aaron is he wants us to be mentally on the same page," Janis said during OTAs, per Demovsky. "He knows physical mistakes are going to happen, like dropped balls and things like that, but mental errors are unacceptable to him. So I think that's where I'm really trying to take a step."

Now, with the injury to Nelson, eliminating mental mistakes will be essential for Janis in 2015. 

2015 Preview

The Janis hype train would like to submit him as a candidate to replace Nelson's production and spot on the field, but that's not realistic. 

What is more likely to happen in 2015 is that Davante Adams will move outside to the "X" position, while Randall Cobb, who will likely see the most targets from Rodgers of all the receivers, will remain in the slot most of the time. That leaves the other outside "Z" position open, which is where Janis can make a push to contribute. 

Janis has ideal size for the outside at 6'3" and 219 pounds. While he may not have as much experience in the Packers offense as a player such as veteran White, Janis' chances of earning meaningful snaps in 2015 have been all but guaranteed by Nelson's injury. 

2015 third-round rookie Ty Montgomery is also in line for targets to carry some of the workload that would have gone to Nelson, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him earn No. 3 snaps over Janis. Montgomery has been earning high praise from his coaches and teammates, with McCarthy recently calling him a "playmaker," per Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

However, Montgomery's unique skill set and size (6'0", 216 pounds) make him a great candidate to line up in the slot and out of the backfield. He can line up outside, too, but as he'll also likely be getting heavy usage in the return game on special teams, Janis may be a better candidate to take more of the No. 3 snaps. 

But talent outweighs size and oftentimes experience. Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel reported Monday that "heading into practice this week, Randall Cobb will be the No. 1, Davante Adams the No. 2 and rookie Ty Montgomery the No. 3."

Even if Janis doesn't earn the No. 3 job, however, he could get a lot of usage in the Packers' frequent use of four-wide sets. 

Janis had his first opportunity to step up after Nelson went down against Pittsburgh on Sunday. He finished his day with three catches for 25 yards and was the second most productive pass-catcher in the game after tight end Richard Rodgers. 

Projected 2015 Impact Meter: Medium