Green Bay Packers

Packers WR Janis wants to be 'more involved' on offense in 2016

Published Jan. 21, 2016 3:22 p.m. ET

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There's some considerable buzz surrounding Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jeff Janis after his breakout performance against the Arizona Cardinals in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Although the Packers lost the game, he caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns -- including a 41-yard Hail Mary from quarterback Aaron Rodgers that sent the game into overtime.

Already looking ahead to the 2016 season, Janis hopes he'll have an opportunity to play a larger role on offense.

Via Ryan Wood of Press-Gazette Media:

Hopefully I’ll get a bit more involved in the offense next year. I don’t want to be the guy that’s saying I need to be starting or anything like that. Just to be able to help the offense a little more next year would be nice.

Janis was a seventh-round draft pick out of Saginaw Valley in 2014 who barely played as a rookie. This past season, the 6-foot-3, 219-pound receiver was an excellent punt-gunner but was rarely utilized on offense. He caught two passes for 79 yards (both against the San Diego Chargers in Week 6), totaling 11 targets on the year.

Without Jordy Nelson, the Packers were missing a big-play receiver all season. Heading into the Arizona game, Green Bay called upon Jared Abbrederis to start for the injured and inactive Davante Adams; it wasn't until Randall Cobb went down that Janis got his chance to shine.

Stepping up on such a large stage should give the 24-year-old pass-catcher plenty of confidence for the future.