Packers Snap Counts: Undrafted DT Lancaster makes most of opportunity
Getting drafted is one thing, being a success in the NFL is another.
A player's draft position only can take him so far -- yes, he gets a higher salary and presumably a little more benefit of the doubt than someone who was selected later or not at all. But in the end, production (usually) wins out.
This leads us to Green Bay and the nose tackle position. The Packers took Montravius Adams in the third round of the 2017 draft. However, it's undrafted free agent Tyler Lancaster who has passed Adams on the depth chart and is now starting for the Packers.
Lancaster, who was signed to the active roster from the practice squad Oct. 6, played in a season-high 85 percent of the defensive snaps in Green Bay's 24-14 loss to Chicago on Sunday. In his previous nine games, Lancaster, a rookie from Northwestern, had appeared in more than a third of the defensive snaps just once (56.6 percent in Week 12 vs. Arizona).
Lancaster finished with team highs of six solo tackles and seven combined tackles. All of his stops came on Jordan Howard runs and each was for four yards or less.
Meanwhile, Adams played in 16 snaps (26.7 percent) against the Bears and 43 combined over the last three games. He's appeared in more than 28 percent of the snaps just once this season -- 32.9 percent in Week 10 at Seattle. Adams had three tackles (two solo) and a quarterback hurry.
Other notes from Sunday's snap counts:
-- With Aaron Jones getting in on just nine snaps before leaving with an injury, Jamaal Williams played 59 snaps (87 percent). He finished with 12 carries and four catches on five targets.
-- Marquez Valdes-Scantling continues to slip down the depth chart. He had 21 snaps (31 percent), the same amount as Jake Kumerow. Fellow rookie Equanimeous St. Brown had 42 snaps (62 percent). All three receivers each finished with just one catch apiece.
-- Tight end Lance Kendricks had only nine snaps (13 percent) but had four catches on four targets. For just the second time this season, Marcedes Lewis (11) had more snaps than Kendricks.
-- For the fourth straight game, linebacker Blake Martinez, cornerback Jaire Alexander and safety Tramon Williams played every defensive snap.
-- In his third game with the Packers, safety Eddie Pleasant played in 31 defensive snaps (52 percent). He had 17 snaps combined in his first two games. He had two tackles, including one tackle for loss.
-- Seventh-round pick defensive end James Looney made his NFL debut -- he got in on one defensive snap.
GAME 14: BEARS (OFFENSE)
| PLAYER | PLAYS (68) | % |
| Patrick | 68 | 100% |
| Spriggs | 68 | 100% |
| Bakhtiari | 68 | 100% |
| Taylor | 68 | 100% |
| Linsley | 68 | 100% |
| A. Rodgers | 68 | 100% |
| Adams | 64 | 94% |
| Williams | 59 | 87% |
| Cobb | 47 | 69% |
| Graham | 47 | 69% |
| St. Brown | 42 | 62% |
| Kumerow | 21 | 31% |
| Valdes-Scantling | 21 | 31% |
| Lewis | 11 | 16% |
| Kendricks | 9 | 13% |
| Tonyan | 8 | 12% |
| A. Jones | 9 | 10% |
| Vitale | 4 | 6% |
GAME 14: BEARS (DEFENSE)
| PLAYER | PLAYS (60) | % |
| Martinez | 60 | 100% |
| Alexander | 60 | 100% |
| Williams | 60 | 100% |
| Lowry | 53 | 88% |
| Breeland | 53 | 88% |
| Fackrell | 51 | 85% |
| Lancaster | 51 | 85% |
| Matthews | 49 | 82% |
| Jones | 48 | 80% |
| Jackson | 40 | 67% |
| Pleasant | 31 | 52% |
| Brown | 28 | 47% |
| Gilbert | 21 | 35% |
| Brice | 18 | 30% |
| Adams | 16 | 27% |
| Brown | 12 | 20% |
| Morrison | 8 | 13% |
| Looney | 1 | 2% |
