Packers Season Snap Counts: Tonyan becomes a crucial piece in the offense

After the 2020 season, nobody has an excuse for pronouncing Robert Tonyan’s last name incorrectly.

Yes, it’s pronounced “Tun-yan” and you’ll be hearing it a lot more in the future because he is not going anywhere.

The undrafted tight end from Indiana State broke out during his third year in the NFL. Tonyan had just a combined 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns during his first two seasons with the Packers and played just 19.3% of offensive snaps in 2019 (including playoffs).

Well, those old statistics are a thing of the past. Tonyan’s playing time skyrocketed to 61.86% of the team’s 1,185 offensive snaps (also including playoffs). His numbers rose mightily as well, to 52 receptions for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Of those 11 scores, seven came in the red zone. The only other tight end to score 11 touchdowns in 2020 was Travis Kelce, widely regarded as the best at that position in the game, so he was in good company.

Tonyan burst onto the scene in 2020 and it appears he has what it takes to remain one of the Packers best offensive weapons moving forward.

TOUCHDOWN TONYAN! 😤#GoPackGo

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/pggoEwe86c

— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) October 6, 2020

Other notes from 2020 snap counts:

— Nobody on Green Bay’s offense played 100% of snaps, with guard Elgton Jenkins leading the way missing just two snaps and playing 99.83% of the time. Aaron Rodgers (98.10%) and Lucas Patrick (91.56%) were the only other players to play at least 90% of offensive snaps.

— Only one Green Bay defender played more than 90% of defensive snaps, that being safety Adrian Amos who led the Packers defense at 98.34%.

— Starting left tackle David Bakhtiari played more than backup tackle Rick Wagner – but barely. Bakhtiari finished with 758 snaps (63.97%) while Wagner was out there 756 times (63.80%) in fill-in spots.

— Davante Adams missed two games and still led all wide receivers in snaps and was fifth overall on the team (904, 76.29%).

— Undrafted rookie free-agent linebacker Krys Barnes played less than 30% of snaps in the first three games in the season but played at least 40% of snaps in every game he appeared in after that. In all, the UCLA product finished at 44.16% of defensive snaps, which was the most for any Green Bay rookie.

— Among drafted rookies, fourth-round pick linebacker Kamal Martin had the most snaps in 2020 with 208. Offensive lineman Jon Runyan, a sixth-round selection, had the most snaps on offense for any drafted rookie with 160.

— Other drafted rookies and their snaps: RB AJ Dillon (second round), 122; S Vernon Scott (seventh round), 89; LB Jonathan Garvin (seventh round), 85; TE Josiah Deguara (third round) 31. Did not play: QB Jordan Love (first round), OL Jake Hanson (sixth round), OL Simon Stepaniak (sixth round).

— Did you blink and miss it? Defensive lineman Anthony Rush recorded one defensive snap this season; it came in Green Bay’s Week 15 win over the Carolina Panthers. The offensive player on the field the least was wideout Reggie Begelton, who played two snaps in the game against Atlanta.

PACKERS 2020 SEASON SNAP COUNTS (OFFENSE)

PACKERS 2020 SEASON SNAP COUNTS (DEFENSE)