Green Bay Packers Must Give WR Jeff Janis a Chance to Help Struggling Offense

It started out as a running joke, but it's not so funny anymore. 

The joke was that second-year wide receiver and 2014 seventh-round draft selection Jeff Janis is hyped as one of the Green Bay Packers' best receivers by many fans, despite the fact the Division II Saginaw Valley State product played just 15 snaps in his rookie season, per Pro Football Focus, and didn't have a reception in 2015 until Week 6.

But the group of fans that has clamored for Janis' involvement on offense is now joined by a more measured group of voices that has witnessed the Packers struggle mightily on offense this season. 

With the Packers' offensive woes teetering on the verge of destroying their postseason campaign, shouldn't the team be willing to unload its entire arsenal to see what works—including Janis? 

It was understandable that Janis did not see the field much in his rookie season. The Packers were more than set at the position to start the year, with veterans Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb leading the pack and then-rookie Davante Adams emerging as the No. 3. 

When the Packers ran four-wide sets last season, it was Jarrett Boykin who received the call for those snaps, and Green Bay was also cultivating then-rookie tight end Richard Rodgers behind Andrew Quarless. 

So Janis sat on the bench to start the season, but those who knew the receiver's measurables and had seen him perform at the NFL combine waited to see what he could do in the NFL.

In addition to his special teams snaps, Janis did see time on offense in three games in 2014: Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings and Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins. 

In the latter game against Miami, it seemed Janis might have had an opening to break out when the Packers, tied 10-10 with the Dolphins, attempted to score from the red zone. Janis was open, but Aaron Rodgers stared down Randall Cobb until his trusted target broke free. 

The assumption was that the Packers would give Janis more opportunities toward the end of the season, but when those didn't come, the first inklings that the Packers—and Rodgers—didn't trust Janis in game situations emerged. 

It was during OTAs in June 2015 that Janis made some telling comments that seemed to suggest why he didn't see the field more the previous season. 

"I think the biggest thing with Aaron is he wants us to be mentally on the same page," Janis said at the time, per ESPN.com's Rob 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."

Janis started to develop a devoted fan following during his first NFL preseason, when he showed off his 4.42-second combine speed and athleticism. He had a 34-yard touchdown reception against the St. Louis Rams while working with quarterback Matt Flynn and then a 33-yard score against the Kansas City Chiefs on a connection with backup Scott Tolzien. 

His growing group of fans were quick to point out that Janis' only two receptions during the 2014 preseason were touchdowns. 

In the 2015 preseason, the praise for Janis began to reach a fever pitch when the receiver scored three times in four outings. In the team's first preaseason game against the New England Patriots, Janis connected with Tolzien on a deep pass for a 26-yard touchdown. 

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Against the Philadelphia Eagles in the third week of the preseason, Janis connected with quarterback Matt Blanchard on a 27-yard score on a 3rd-and-11, with his burst allowing him to easily gain separation. 

Janis finished off his preseason with a 14-yard touchdown reception from rookie Brett Hundley, putting his numbers through four games at 10 receptions, 149 yards and three touchdowns.

With Jordy Nelson landing on injured reserve in early September, it seemed obvious that Green Bay would turn to Janis in 2015. Janis and Nelson are extremely similar players; both are 6'3" and around 220 pounds, and both were lauded for their hands ahead of their respective drafts. 

But the first five weeks of the Packers' 2015 season came and went and Janis did not have a catch. He was active in every game and was used to block or even occasionally run routes on offense, but Rodgers did not look his way. 

That wasn't such a problem during those first few weeks, as the Packers were undefeated. Sure, they very obviously lacked a deep threat, and defenses were slowly exposing their weak spots, but it wasn't until Week 6 that Green Bay's offense really began to look questionable. 

That matchup, against the San Diego Chargers, was also Janis' first meaningful game of the season, necessitated by injuries: Adams was out with an ankle, and rookie Ty Montgomery left in the second quarter with the same injury. 

It was after Montgomery's injury that Janis saw the majority of his snaps, and he made the most of them, finishing that game with two receptions for 79 yards, including an explosive 46-yard catch. 

Clearly, the Packers had a deep threat on the roster, and Janis' route running appeared to be sound. What's more, he didn't drop any targets. He also had some crucial blocks, including one on James Starks' touchdown run. 

His teammates didn't have enough glowing things to say about Janis after the game against the Chargers. 

"That boy is fast," defensive back Micah Hyde said, per Ryan Wood of Press-Gazette Media.

"He’s kind of like Jordy. You don’t realize how fast he is until you go at him on a post, and he’s just breaking away from you. The first 10 yards, you think you have him, and after that he’s just flying."

Rookie cornerback Quinten Rollins called Janis a "great, great, great deep-ball threat.”

Three greats. Surely Janis had the attention of his coaching staff now. 

But he didn't. After the bye, Janis has yet to post another reception. He has, however, continued to make an impact in the return game with Montgomery and Hyde injured; he showed off his speed on a 70-yard kick return against Minnesota in Week 11—the team's longest this season or last season. The team's official Twitter account shared highlights of Janis' impressive speed:

He followed that up with another kick return of 64 yards against Chicago. 

Much of the onus for Janis' absence has been placed upon Rodgers' expectations, with continued reports that the quarterback does not yet trust his developing receiver. 

"Rodgers, the two-time MVP, has high expectations for teammates. Fail to impress him and receivers won’t see many passes," Wood wrote. 

But now, who can Rodgers trust? Certainly not Adams, who had at least three crucial drops in the brutal loss to the Bears on Thanksgiving Day. Cobb and James Jones each added drops of their own, continuing a worrisome trend that has developed this season. 

Janis may still be raw in his route running, but at this point, the Packers simply need somebody who can hang onto the ball. Blazing speed and deep-threat potential are added bonuses. 

The early Janis hype may have been laughable in its intensity, but now even those on the Packers beat are beginning to question the coaching staff's continued resolve to limit his snaps. It was a consensus between Wood and ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde that Janis made "good things happen":

All season, Green Bay wideouts have struggled to gain separation and have failed to deliver in the Packers' spread-based offense, which puts high pressure on them to beat man coverage while running isolation routes.

Janis is one of the few players on the roster with the size and the speed to win his one-on-one matchups, but to this point, he has been held out from doing this just because he's green.

But what is the worst that could happen by targeting Janis in the passing game—drops? Fumbles?

Those problems are already plaguing the offense.

If this coaching staff doesn't explore every available avenue to make improvements as the 2015 season winds down, this team has no hope of playing deep into January.