Jake Kumerow, The Hardest Bubble Candidate

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jake Kumerow is sitting directly on the bubble. He isn’t halfway there. He’s right on the damn thing to make the Green Bay Packers roster. Some wonder how this is possible. Kumerow got the Aaron Rodgers endorsement throughout Training Camp, and he made big catches in two preseason games. People are assuming that Kumerow will make the team. It’s not a given. Trevor Davis could take his spot as the last wide receiver leaving him on the outs and looking for work again which shouldn’t be too hard to find after his impressive August.
Packers should assess the Kumerow thing in two ways. One, can he help the offense immediately? Two, does he have any ability to contribute on special teams? The first question is yes, probably. If you were to poke Mike McCarthy, I’d venture that Kumerow may be the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart. Fourth wide receivers get a couple snaps from game to game running sets like trips or spreading it out entirely. My guess is the fourth wide receiver will be a competition at the start of the season, and whomever grabs it in the first couple weeks will get it. With Rodgers’ endorsement, he would likely look to Kumerow more than maybe other young receivers.
Kumerow needs to make his case that he could play special teams. Green Bay would probably like to see him as a gunner before making a call on Davis or Kumerow. That said, it’s not the best thing to do with a shoulder injury. Even if he’s feeling better, that may give Davis a slight edge. Kumerow is a bigger body type for the gunner position though. He is fast too, therefore, he could be a Jeff Janis-type on special teams if he makes the roster.
It’s going to be tight, and there’s now way both Davis and Kumerow can make the squad. We’ll see what Brian Gutekunst ends up doing with his roster.
Charlie.