Can Green Bay Packers WR Jeff Janis Deliver on High Expectations?

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jeff Janis, drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft, played just 15 snaps for the Packers over the 2014-15 season. He had two receptions for 16 yards and no touchdowns.

The reputation Janis has built up among Packers fans, however, does not quite match his production.

After some eye-catching plays the receiver made in training camp and a pair of preseason touchdowns in 2014, fans began eagerly following the rookie, waiting for his breakout game. 

That game never came for Janis in 2014. Will he finally be able to deliver on those expectations in 2015?

"

Hard not to love a player like Jeff Janis #Workhorse

— JM (Packers) (@NationPackers) June 3, 2015"

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I hope @jrjanis becomes a starter this season. i Have you on my fantasy team.

— Grant Plowman (@17plowmang) April 23, 2015"

Search Twitter for Janis' mentions, and they're filled with fans wishing him well and hoping he has a breakout season. 

Even Packers great Donald Driver has high hopes for Janis. 

This year, the Janis hype took a small hit when the Packers drafted wide receiver Ty Montgomery in Round 3 of the draft, but now that the second-year player is back to making plays during OTAs and getting recognition from the coaches, it's building again.

"Jeff Janis is definitely moving forward," head coach Mike McCarthy said after OTAs on Tuesday, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. He continued: 

"

I thought he really came on at the end of last year. He was definitely ready to play at that point. There's still some things fundamentally that he needs to work on just like everybody else. But yes, any time you get reps with the No. 1 offense, particularly [with] Aaron Rodgers and being on the same page and connecting, it definitely boosts your confidence.

"

McCarthy's comments came after Janis caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers during a two-minute drill on 4th-and-goal with no time remaining on the clock, per Demovksy. As far as offseason team drill touchdown catches go, that's a good one to make for a prospect on the bubble. 

Because starter Jordy Nelson is still recovering from offseason hip surgery, Janis has had an opportunity to work with Rodgers and the first-team offense during OTAs, per Demovsky.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

The exposure is undoubtedly helpful as the second-year player attempts to fight for what could be a fourth, fifth or sixth roster spot at wide receiver, alongside fellow 2014 rookie Jared Abbrederis and 2015 third-round pick Montgomery. 

2014 rookie Davante Adams looks like a lock for the No. 3 receiver spot behind Nelson and Randall Cobb. 

Is the Janis hype undeserved? Well, certainly when measured against his quantifiable NFL production. But the fans who are excited about Janis are picking up on the same qualities that caused the Packers to draft him in the first place, and if he can deliver on those, the snaps will follow.

To start, Janis' combination of size and speed is elite. At 6'3" and 219 pounds, with two pounds on Nelson, Janis is the largest receiver on Green Bay's roster. 

He's also the fastest, despite his position as a seventh-round draft pick, per the table below (not including the 2015 undrafted rookies).

Player	Year Drafted	40 Time
Jordy Nelson	2008	4.51 seconds
Randall Cobb	2011	4.46 seconds
Myles White	2013 UDFA	4.42 seconds
Jeff Janis	2014	4.42 seconds
Jared Abbrederis	2014	4.50 seconds
Davante Adams	2014	4.56 seconds
Ty Montgomery	2015	4.55 seconds

Why, with that speed, did Janis remain on the board until Round 7 last year? At the time, draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki wrote that while Janis "accelerates into routes quickly and can separate vertically and uncover underneath working short-to-intermediate zones," he also "has very small, inconsistent hands—will cradle the ball and use his body." (Janis has 9" hands.)

Another predraft criticism of Janis that could have kept him from seeing time on the field with the Packers in 2014 is that he's "not a nuanced route-runner," per Nawrocki.

McCarthy also said after the season that Janis didn't see many reps due to a lack of a special teams role for him and a reluctance to insert a rookie with limited experience into the lineup late in the season, per Jason Wilde of ESPN.com.

However, given Janis' raw athletic ability and superior measurables, route running is one of the easiest issues to correct with enough practice. From comments McCarthy made in February, it sounds like Janis already started that improvement at the end of last season and we can expect to see it throughout OTAs and training camp. 

"He’s got to play with extension. That’s the one thing he has to do a better job of," McCarthy said, per Wilde. "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."

A player with Janis' size and speed who is also a skilled route-runner could be a real weapon for Rodgers, especially in long-yardage situations. 

So can Janis live up to these expectations that fans and his team alike have for him? The raw tools are certainly there. The technique seems to be improving.

While it would be wise to scale down the hype on Janis a touch until perhaps he plays meaningful snaps in a regular-season game, he's definitely one of the players on the team with the highest ceiling.

Keep an eye on him through OTAs and training camp as he attempts to win that No. 4 receiver spot, a position the Packers will feature often in their 10 personnel (four-wide) package.