The Green Bay Packers are entering the 2019 campaign with a lot of uncertainty in their receiving corps. Sure, they have Davante Adams in the No. 1 spot, which is great, but after that, it gets very murky.
With Randall Cobb signing with the Dallas Cowboys, the Packers do not currently have a No. 2 receiver. They only have a cast of characters—albeit talented ones—vying for the role.
Among those characters is Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a second-year wide out who stepped in and hauled in 38 receptions for 581 yards and a couple of touchdowns this past season with Cobb dealing with concussion issues and Geronimo Allison missing most of the season.
The question is, will Valdes-Scantling improve upon that production in 2019 for the Packers, and will he be a Fantasy Football sleeper?
It seems like Valdes-Scantling will be competing with Allison for the No. 2 receiver role, and while Valdes-Scantling was more productive in 2018 as a result of simply being on the field more, he doesn't really have much of a lead—if any at all—over Allison.
As a matter of fact, Allison was on pace to register around 1,000 receiving yards had he not gotten hurt after five games this past year, so he almost certainly would have posted better numbers than Valdes-Scantling had he remained healthy.
But there is something to be said for a guy who remained consistent all season and played in all 16 games, and that absolutely makes Valdes-Scantling a serious competitor for Aaron Rodgers' top wide receiver target behind Adams.
The 24-year-old will be a bit of a risky pick in fantasy drafts, because we really don't know what his role will be this coming season. Let's remember that Allison is not the only receiver with whom he is battling, as Equanimeous St. Brown and Jake Kumerow will also be fighting with Valdes-Scantling for a role.
We are not really used to seeing this from Green Bay, a team that generally has a couple of top-flight receivers in its arsenal, but this time around, there is an open competition for the No. 2 spot, and any of those four aforementioned wide outs could end up nailing down the job.
But let's for a moment say that the main battle is between Valdes-Scantling and Allison, because that is probably what will end up occurring.
Is Valdes-Scantling worthy of a pick in your league?
For starters, his quarterback is Rodgers, and for as much criticism as he took last year, he remains one of the top signal-callers in the league, which is good news for any Packers receiver.
So, even if Valdes-Scantling ends up in the third spot, he should still see a decent amount of targets.
You do need to keep in mind, though, that Green Bay has a solid tight end in Jimmy Graham who should also soak up a good number of touches, so if Valdes-Scantling ends up the No. 3 receiver, he might actually be fourth in terms of primacy in the passing game.
My overall take is to not get too high on Valdes-Scantling. There is just too much risk involved.
If you want to take a flier on him as your No. 3 receiver, maybe you'll end up hitting it big if he ultimately wins the No. 2 role, but don't expect much more than 50 catches for 700 yards and a few touchdowns.
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