Davante Adams

Fantasy owners, listen up: Matt LaFleur is pumping the brakes on Allen Lazard's potential breakout season.

"I don't think anybody's clear cut in front of the other guy. I think it's gonna be very much the ball's gonna get spread around and we're gonna try to feature different guys in different spots," LaFleur told reporters Wednesday when speaking about the Packers' wide receiving corps.

Lazard has been hyped throughout the offseason as a potential replacement for Davante Adams as Aaron Rodgers' top receiver. It seems LaFleur will have a more egalitarian approach to targets, though it's a near-certainty one player will stand above the rest as Rodgers' favorite.

Lazard has been hyped throughout the offseason as a potential replacement for Davante Adams as Aaron Rodgers' top receiver. It seems LaFleur will have a more egalitarian approach to targets, though it's a near-certainty one player will stand above the rest as Rodgers' favorite.

In all but one season since 2013, Rodgers' top option has gotten more than 120 targets and has topped the 150-target mark four times. (The lone exception came during Rodgers' injury-plagued 2017 campaign.)

Even if Lazard winds up on the lower end of that spectrum, he will still provide value from a fantasy perspective. He's being picked as WR43 in fantasy drafts, which is way too low for the default top target in a prolific offense.

The Packers drafted Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs to help fill out the receiving corps, but it's hard to believe the notorious perfectionist Rodgers will have much patience for the hiccups of the younger players.

Someone is going to emerge as the trusted No. 1 target; smart money remains on Lazard, even if LaFleur is taking the hose to his rising draft stock.

Allen Lazard said he's ready for the challenge of trying to replace five-time Pro Bowler Davante Adams as the Green Bay Packers' No. 1 wide receiver.

Lazard discussed his more prominent role in the Aaron Rodgers-led passing attack following Adams' trade to the Las Vegas Raiders on the NFL Network's Good Morning Football.

"Extremely confident. It's something I've been working hard at for the past several years," Lazard said Tuesday. "It's not, like, an unfamiliar role for me. I'm doing it on a different level. I'm looking forward to the opportunity."

Green Bay didn't make any blockbuster additions to its receiving corps after Adams' departure in March, a decision that comes with some risk given the back-to-back MVP seasons that Rodgers produced while throwing to one of the league's best wideouts.

Instead, the Packers are betting on their internal options to step up and fill key roles.

Randall Cobb returned to the team last season, but he played a minor role. It's unclear whether he can still produce at the level he did in 2014, when he recorded 91 catches for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns during the second of Rodgers' four MVP campaigns.

Green Bay invested two mid-round draft picks on rookie receivers: Christian Watson, who's missed the start of training camp with a knee injury, and camp standout Romeo Doubs.

The front office also signed Sammy Watkins, who's flashed playmaking ability across eight NFL seasons but has struggled to stay healthy consistently.

Yet, while the Packers feature solid depth at the position, the key question is whether anyone on the roster can come anywhere close to filling Adams' massive shoes. Lazard figures to get the first crack.

Rodgers told reporters in July he's confident in the 26-year-old Iowa State product:

"He's capable of a lot. And the way things have gone with the reps and the guys that we've had here and the targets that we've doled out, he hasn't had a ton of opportunities. Since his first day here, he's turned heads, so it's not surprising for him to go out and have a really consistent day today. But he's been working hard. He has a lot to prove, to himself, to other people, to the team as well. I like a hungry Allen Lazard. It will be an adjustment for us, but I'm happy with Day 1."

Lazard, who joined the Packers off the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad in 2018, is coming off a solid 2021 season. He recorded 40 catches for 513 yards and eight touchdowns in a complementary role.

Now he'll be tasked with handling a sizable increase from his career-high 60 targets last year while often matching up against an opponent's top cornerback.

How he handles that role in the early weeks of the regular season will likely determine whether he's one of the year's breakout sensations or fades into a time-share.

Coming off a historic 2021 season capped off by catching the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVI, Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp has a strong argument as the best wide receiver in the NFL.

Kupp, though, apparently doesn't think of himself as one of the top five wideouts in the league. Appearing on I AM ATHLETE (starts at 2:00 mark), the 29-year-old ranked Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, Stefon Diggs, Ja'Marr Chase and Odell Beckham Jr. as the five best players at the position.

If you believe that where an athlete ranks himself should be ironclad and not subject to change, Kupp has opened himself up to scrutiny from people who keep track of these things.

Last month, Jefferson told reporters he is the second-best receiver in the NFL because he has to respect all that Adams has accomplished in his career.

When asked about Kupp, the Minnesota Vikings superstar said he is "good, but I'll say he's behind me."

After getting word of that assessment, Kupp told reporters he respected Jefferson's opinion "and I can also respectfully disagree."

It's hard to argue that Jefferson and Kupp aren't among the best players at their position. Jefferson has racked up 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns on 196 receptions in 33 games over his first two seasons in the NFL.

Kupp has been a solid receiver over the course of his career, but the Eastern Washington alum turned in one of the best seasons in league history last year. He won the receiving triple crown with 145 receptions, 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Per NFL.com's Grant Gordon, the only other players to record at least 100 receptions, 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns in a season are Jerry Rice (1995), Marvin Harrison (2001) and Randy Moss (2003).

During the Rams' run to the Super Bowl, Kupp added 33 catches, 478 yards and six touchdowns in four playoff games. His final catch of the year was a one-yard touchdown that put the Rams up 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

If that's not enough to make Kupp one of the five best wideouts in the league, what is?