Over the past few weeks, I have been analyzing each of the Packers’ unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2021 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, projecting possible contract terms, and making a prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2022.
Next up in the series, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has averaged 17.5 yards per catch since entering the league in 2018. He’s also scored 13 touchdowns, including five of more than 50 yards. Will that be enough to get the wide receiver a new contract?
Season In Review
Valdes-Scantling enjoyed a terrific training camp. His routes were crisper, and his hands were more reliable than in the past. The 27-year-old seemed poised for a breakthrough season. Unfortunately, a nagging hamstring injury and a quarterback who once again refused to throw him the ball kept his numbers down (26 catches for 430 yards and 3 touchdowns). Still, Valdes-Scantling did enough good things to become one of the most sought-after wide receivers in this year’s free-agent class. He has flaws, but there aren’t many people on the planet who can run in the 4.3s at 6-foot-4.
Why Packers Should Re-sign Him
Green Bay might have the slowest group of receivers in the entire league. Only Valdes-Scantling and seldom-used Equanimeous St. Brown ran sub-4.5 at the NFL Combine. A back injury forced Valdes-Scantling to miss the divisional round of the playoffs, and without his speed to take the top off the defense, the 49ers crowded the line of scrimmage and made it very difficult for the running backs to find holes and for Aaron Rodgers to locate receivers in the middle of the field.
Why Packers Should Let Him Walk
Valdes-Scantling will never be a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver, and that’s probably what he’s going to be paid like in free agency. While his route running and hands have improved in recent seasons, he still struggles to get off press coverage, and he doesn’t attack the ball in the air. Because he consistently lets the ball come down to him, corners often have time to make up ground at the last second. Valdes-Scantling has made only 14 contested catches in his career.
What A Contract Might Look Like
$20.5 million/3 years ($7.5M guaranteed)
Prediction
Green Bay probably won’t be able to afford Valdes-Scantling, but even if they could, what’s the point of giving a sizeable contract to a player the quarterback forgets about for weeks at a time? The Packers need to find a younger, cheaper, and more well-rounded wide receiver, and Valdes-Scantling needs to find an offense that better utilizes his unique skill set.
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I love MVS. He’s been under utilized in GB. I really think that had he not gotten hurt it would’ve been a breakout season for him.