Cheese Curds, 5/5: Amari Rodgers hopes to make immediate impression on Packers

He may be short, but that didn’t stop one of his mentors from being a highly productive slot player for the Green Bay Packers for most of a decade. Now Amari Rodgers will hope to get his career off to a start that suggests he can match or exceed the production that Randall Cobb provided to the team.

Rodgers is one of the players in the Packers’ 2021 Draft class who has a good chance to be an early contributor. The kick and punt return role is right there for the taking, as is the jet sweep/jet motion role on offense. But if Matt LaFleur can devise other creative ways to deploy a true slot receiver rather than simply a backfield gadget player, Rodgers could quickly become a fan favorite — and a productive player.

Of course, there’s the elephant in the room that will drastically impact Rodgers’ short-term potential, and that elephant shares his last name. Amari will surely keep his head down and work hard regardless of who is throwing him the football — his makeup and work ethic suggest as much — so it will be fascinating to watch his development over the next few years.

Ranking Packers’ draft picks by instant impact potential | Packers Wire
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Josh Myers leads this list, given the Packers' vacancy at center. Amari Rodgers comes in at number two, with his special teams versatility and very different body type at receiver giving him a chance to contribute early.

Randall Cobb sees Amari Rodgers ‘being a lot better version’ of himself | Packersnews.com (subscription)
Cobb was a tremendous, versatile player for the Packers for eight seasons. If Rodgers is better than Cobb, then Green Bay will have found a steal in round three.

Aaron Rodgers-Packers standoff - What's behind it, how they make amends, what split would mean | ESPN
Bob at ESPN summarizes the situation as it currently stands with both sides.

Former Chargers CB Casey Hayward signs with Raiders | NFL.com
Old friend alert.

Shark attack survivor wins right to keep tooth left in surfboard - BBC News
If you get bitten by a shark and lose your leg, yeah, I think you get to keep the tooth, even if the shark was from a protected species.