Note I found interesting last night: Carolina had some competition for Laviska Shenault. Packers, Falcons were among the other teams that were talking to the Jaguars about trading for Shenault before they reached a deal with the Panthers, per sources.
Buy Packers Tickets— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) August 30, 2022
The Green Bay Packers were among the teams interested in a trade before the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to deal wide receiver Laviska Shenault to the Carolina Panthers on Monday, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.
Shenault was a second-round pick of the Jaguars in 2020 who has 121 career catches in two seasons.
The real question here: Was this the Packers just “being in every conversation,” as general manager Brian Gutekunst likes to say, or was the interest in adding Shenault truly genuine?
The Packers, already with a lot of moving parts at wide receiver, may have viewed Shenault as a position-less player who could handle gadget touches in Matt LaFleur’s diverse offensive scheme and also contribute on special teams, although second-year player Amari Rodgers is cut from the same cloth.
It’s certainly possible Shenault was a player Gutekunst liked but wasn’t in a position to draft back in 2020, prompting the conversation with the Jaguars. Per Graziano, the Falcons were also interested in Shenault before the deal with the Panthers was made. Atlanta is coached by Arthur Smith, who runs a similar offense as LaFleur.
Last season, Shenault caught 63 passes for 619 yards and zero touchdowns. He also rushed 11 times for 41 yards.
For his career, Shenault has caught 67.6 percent of his targets and averaged 6.8 yards per target.
The Packers try to leave no stone unturned when it comes to player acquisition. The process leads to perceived interest, even when the moves usually don’t happen.
