Aaron Jones, a star running back, was named one of three finalists for the prestigious NFL Award
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones is well-known around the NFL as one of the kindest and community-oriented players in the league. While he did not get the nod this year, he has become an annual nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (De’Vondre Campbell received the Packers’ nomination this year).
Jones’ foundation, the A & A Foundation, which he started with his brother, Alvin, helps at-risk youth, provides services for cancer patients, and provides aid to other foundations whose mission is to help unemployed military veterans get jobs.
While he was not named a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award this season, Jones was recently announced as one of three finalists for the NFL’s Salute to Service Award.
Green Bay Packers Running Back Aaron Jones Is a Finalist for the NFL Salute to Service Award
According to the NFL’s press release regarding the Salute to Service Award:
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona are the other nominees.
USAA will donate $25,000 in the winner’s honor to official aid societies. The NFL will match the donation amount to the winner’s military veteran charity of choice.
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Packers’ Dontayvion Wicks ranks 1st in NFL in key stat
During his rookie season, the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff praised rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks — who was picked in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft — for his ability to separate at the top of his route. This has even led to comparisons to former star receiver Davante Adams.
But how good was Wicks as a rookie, really? Green Bay had a four-to-five-man rotation at the receiver position this year, meaning that Wicks was never a true featured go-to receiver for the Packers. Well, take a look at this statistic from Arjun Menon, who is working with Pro Football Focus’ data.
According to Menon, no player in the NFL had a higher percentage of routes vs man coverage that created separation from a defender than Wicks in 2023. Notably, this was a weakness of the 2022 Packers until Christian Watson’s breakout game against the Dallas Cowboys. With Watson out for half of the regular season due to a hamstring issue, Wicks was able to fill the role as the man-beater for the team.
To put Wicks’ snap count into perspective, he played less than a third of the snaps against man coverage as New York Jets receiver Garrett Wilson saw in 2023, per Menon’s table.
So, how good are Wicks? He may be incredibly good. The question now is whether he will be allowed to play a bigger number of snaps in 2024, or if the coaching staff will continue to distribute repetitions among Wicks, Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Bo Melton in the future. If given the opportunity to ramp up his output, don’t be surprised if Wicks, a Day 3 pick, becomes the Packers’ top receiving option in the future.
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