Takeaways From 13 Years of Explosive Play Data

I’ve had fun the past few seasons tracking the Packers’ explosive plays, and I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on their big gains again this year.

This offseason, I spent a few days expanding my database of explosive plays to encompass the entire Aaron Rodgers era — previously, my numbers had only gone back to 2014.

I don’t have a good way to make all the data public, and I’m not sure it’d be of interest to many people if I did, but I thought I’d share a few takeaways from what I’ve learned.

Davante Adams’ maturation as an explosive receiver was unparalleled

Since 2008, Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb — in that order — have produced the most explosive plays with the Packers. Nelson would be first but for his torn ACL, but alas, we can’t have nice things.

Anyway, if you look at their year-by-year production, they’re largely similar. All had peak years with more than 30 explosive plays and they all started to really hit their stride around year three.

But what stands out to me is how Davante Adams’ really exploded (pardon the pun) his last two years in Green Bay. In 2020 and 2021, he put up 25 and 34 explosive plays, nearly a third of his career total. Some of that is due to the fact that the Packers didn’t have many other places to throw the ball. But it also demonstrates that even as he aged, he was still finding new ways to terrorize defenses.

Eddie Lacy was more explosive than you remember

I always think that Eddie Lacy gets a bad rap in Green Bay. Yes, he had weight issues, but by the 2016 season, he’d really put them behind him. It was an ankle injury that sent him out of town, not weight.

I think there will eventually be a Lacy renaissance, but let me get aboard that bandwagon early: Lacy was a very explosive player. He had 21 and 29 explosive plays in his first two years in Green Bay, a better two-year total than any two-season stretch of Aaron Jones’ career to date. In 2016, his final season in Green Bay, he’d already piled up nine explosive plays through five games, putting him on pace for 28 that season, which would have been the second-highest total of his career.

Here and gone

A few guys produced explosive plays for just one season. Jarrett Boykin is the best of this lot, piling up 14 during his out-of-nowhere 2013 season.

Brandon Bostick also had a random good year that season. The less said about Bostick, the better, of course, but it’s worth pointing out that he had five explosive plays in 2013, including four catches of 20 yards or more.

Brett Hundley, meanwhile, produced 10 explosive plays during his ill-fated run as a starter in 2017. For comparison, Aaron Rodgers’ career high for explosive plays in a season is 11. If nothing else, Hundley could make plays with his legs.

Finally, I want to mention Cedric Benson. He’s hardly a footnote in Packers history — he appeared in just five games in 2012 — but he was a fun story. He managed two explosive plays during his short time in Green Bay and also scored the Packers’ only touchdown in their loss to Seattle in the infamous Fail Mary game.

One-hit wonders

Finally, I have a few guys in the database who only managed a single explosive play. Here’s a rundown, excluding guys (Amari Rodgers, for instance) whose careers are still underway in Green Bay:

  • Alonzo Harris

  • Brandon Saine

  • Brett Swain

  • Christine Michael

  • Dominique Dafney

  • Emanuel Byrd

  • John Crockett

  • Kregg Lumpkin

  • Michael Clark

AnalysisJon MeerdinkExplosive Plays, Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Eddie Lacy