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GREEN BAY, Wis. For the past four seasons, Davante Adams monopolized Bill Melton Jersey the attention of opposing defensive coordinators and their top cornerbacks. With Adams traded to Las Vegas, that attention will shift elsewhere most likely to Allen Lazard.Lazard is Green Bays top returning receiver. He finished last year with a flourish. Over the final five games, he topped 70 yards three times. Put that production over 17 games, Lazard would catch 71 pa ses for 986 yards and 17 touchdowns. , Lazard should get more opportunities to potentially put himself in position to have a 1,000-yard season. On the other hand, hell face better defenders and game plans in which he no longer will be a relative afterthought.Its a challenge that Lazard isnt running from.Thats what Ive hoped for, thats what Ive dreamed about going against the best guys in the league and having succe s against them time and time again, Lazard said after practice on Tuesday. Thats something Ive definitely visualized and manifested, not just since Ive been here but since Ive been a kid, since Ive been in college.For Lazard, its the next step in a career that started as an undrafted free agent in Jacksonville to .I respect the hell out of him, LaFleur said this week. Hes a guy that puts it out there every time he goes out on the field. He wears a lot of hats Eloy Jimenez Jersey for us and hes a really intelligent player. I think you guys can see that by the way he goes out there and competes. Hes a great leader on our offense and, in particular, in that wide receiver room.In terms of playing time and role, Lazard is the only sure thing on the receiver corps. Sammy Watkins had had a quiet camp and seems to lack an explosive second gear. Randall Cobb is a useful role player but not a go-to threat. Romeo Doubs is a rookie. Christian Watson is an injured rookie. Juwann Winfree hasnt done much in his first three NFL seasons, though quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave him an unprompted shoutout on Tuesday.Scroll to ContinueSomebody from that group or somebodies must emerge alongside Lazard if this pa sing game is going to function on a week- James Shields Jersey to-week basis, let alone in big moments in big games against quality defenses with top cornerbacks.Nobody has made more plays than Doubs, the fourth-round pick from Nevada. He hasnt been perfect. Hes probably dropped more pa ses than any of the receivers. Rodgers can live with some physical mistakes. Its the mental mistakes that will add gray to his stubble. On Monday, Doubs blocked the wrong person on a receiver screen and turned his radar off on a fake-spike by Rodgers in the final seconds of a two-minute drill.Rodgers is notorious for his lack of patience with unproven players, and for good reason. Mental mistakes can turn into turnovers and turnovers can turn into lo ses. Perhaps hes mellowed with age. Or, perhaps, its a nod to the reality that hell have to count on young receivers, like it or not and ready Luis Robert Jersey or not. Either way, Rodgers joined Doubs for lunch on Monday. The me sage he delivered was telling of Rodgers expectations.There were a couple plays that he would love to have back, Rodgers recalled, and I said, Its the best thing that could happen. Because Id rather have it happen on a Monday in August than on a game day in September.Referencing the botched screen, Rodgers continued, It looked really bad, and Im like, Thats the best thing that could happen. Now, the next time the situation comes up, weve got to do the right thing. But mistakes are going to happen. And the most important thing is to learn from those mistakes (and) not make repeat mistakes.Whoever emerges at receiver, the focal point of the pa sing game is going to be Lazard the one in-his-prime player who has been there and done that and long ago earned Rodgers trust.Its a really small sample size, but Lazard has delivered without Adams in a big game. In 2020, Adams was inactive for a Week Ivan Nova Jersey 3 showdown at New Orleans. Lazard caught 6-of-7 pa ses for 146 yards and one touchdown that night. He had a 48-yarder and a 5-yard touchdown against star cornerback Marshon Lattimore.Lazard is ready for more, whether its the Vikings Patrick Peterson in Week 1 or Tampa Bays Carlton Davis and Buffalos TreDavious White in a couple first-half-of-the-season showdowns. Hes eager to face those challenges.Thats what Ive always thought about and Ive always carried myself in that way of being the No. 1 guy and expecting those tough matchups, and for it be third down or late in the fourth quarter and having to make those plays, Lazard said. I think thats why Im in the position that I am right now because Ive done that continuously throughout my career.Related Stories