Packers Linked to 2-Time Pro-Bowl Pass Catcher in Free Agency

The Green Bay Packers are on the hunt for quality targets in the passing game this offseason and can go a number of ways at the tight end position.

Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently suggested free agent Austin Hooper as a sensible fit in Green Bay, whether Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love ends up the team’s starting quarterback in 2023.

“With Jordan Love potentially taking over at quarterback, the need for a consistent target who can also block in the running game is going to be even greater,” Ballentine wrote on Wednesday, March 1. “Someone like Austin Hooper could make sense. He isn’t a field-stretching option but he does a good job of catching the ball and finding the soft spots in zones while providing blocking in the run game.”

Hooper Fits Bill at Crucial Tight End Position For Green Bay Packers

GettyQuarterback Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers walks toward the locker room after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on November 27, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Hooper is not far removed from back-to-back Pro-Bowl seasons with the Atlanta Falcons in 2018-19, which earned him a $42 million deal with the Cleveland Browns the following year.

The tight end’s production dipped once he reached Cleveland, though his struggles weren’t entirely his fault as they coincided with the last couple seasons of quarterback Baker Mayfield’s tumultuous tenure with the franchise. Hooper left the Browns for the Tennessee Titans last year, where he made 41 catches for 444 yards and two touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference.

While Hooper may no longer be a Pro-Bowl caliber player, his skill set fits with the style of offense Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur prefers. Hooper also represents a positional upgrade over Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, both of whom are bound for free agency this month.

“The Packers were in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) at the second-highest rate in the league last season. Now Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and Tyler Davis are all free agents,” Ballentine wrote. “That leaves a pretty big hole at a position Matt LaFleur enjoys utilizing.”

“The team could bring back Tonyan, but this might be a good opportunity to look at other options,” Ballentine continued. “The 28-year-old had a breakout season in 2020 with 586 yards and 11 touchdowns, but Green Bay hasn’t seen that production from him since.”

Hooper played for the Titans on a $6 million deal last season and his projected market value is approximately $6.7 million annually over a two-year contract, per Spotrac.

Packers Poised to Select Top-Rated TE Michael Mayer in NFL Draft

GettyTight end Michael Mayer of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dives for the goal line during a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 19, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Hooper makes sense for the Packers so long as the team doesn’t select a tight end at the top of the upcoming NFL Draft. However, both Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay of ESPN continue to predict that Green Bay will pursue Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer with the No. 15 overall choice in the first round.

Mayer is the highest-rated tight end in the draft, which makes him an attractive option for the Packers playing on the first year of an affordable rookie deal next season at the age of 22. That said, a tight end in the middle of the first round is an ambitious direction for a team that struggled to stop the run and put pressure on the quarterback in 2022 — and that is to say nothing of the Packers’ situation at wide receiver.

Kiper acknowledged that the Packers’ entire draft outlook could shift based on Rodgers’ impending decision about his future, in which case Hooper might become a free agent priority in Green Bay.

“I’m sticking with a tight end for the Packers, but really, we’re in the dark until quarterback Aaron Rodgers decides his future and whether he wants to play for Green Bay or request a trade. That could change this organization’s priorities,” Kiper wrote on February 28. “Depending on how the rest of Green Bay’s offseason goes, I could also see general manager Brian Gutekunst trying to upgrade at offensive tackle or along the defensive line.”