The Green Bay Packers selected three wide receivers in the mid-to-late rounds of this year’s NFL draft, but in no way could they have hoped to get the level of expedited development they’ve received from fifth-round pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Valdes-Scantling (6 feet 4, 4.37 in 40-yard dash) had impressive measurables coming out of South Florida, but he was viewed as a raw prospect, someone who could fulfill the Jeff Janis role on special teams in the interim as he polishes his game at receiver.

From one positive anecdote in the summer about rewriting the entire playbook multiple times to working with Randy Moss to showing out in the Family Night Scrimmage and the first preseason game, Valdes-Scantling — “Quez,” as Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers call him — has continually developed.

With almost half the season in the books, Valdes-Scantling looks like not just a contributor, but someone who can create mismatches.

In seven games (four starts), Valdes-Scantling has 14 receptions on 26 targets, 257 yards and two touchdowns. His 18.4 yards per reception are indicative of the type of threat he’s established himself to be.

In fact, when both Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison were sidelined, the offense didn’t miss a beat – which isn’t to say Cobb or Allison is redundant or an extraneous piece on offense. Rather, Valdes-Scantling picked the offense up, earned Rodgers’ trust and became a playmaker in his own right while the veterans rested.

Rodgers’ trust is not easy to earn. It takes intellectual might, via attentive film sessions, as well as physical effort and precision. Valdes-Scantling failed to live up to Rodgers’ expectations against the Bills when he ran a hitch too deep and didn’t come back to the ball. The throw was almost picked off.

But here’s the thing: Valdes-Scantling learned. He hasn’t repeated his mistakes, and he’s learning each and every week.

“(Rodgers) sees everything. He sees every … single … thing,” Valdes-Scantling said, according to Jim Owczarski of PackersNews.com. “He’ll come back two weeks from now and he’ll remember ‘G-Mo’ was doing this and he was open on this play, and he’ll throw him that ball when he least expects it. That’s something that comes with trust.”

Even with Cobb and Allison back in the lineup, it was the connection between Valdes-Scantling and Rodgers, aside from the Adams-to-Rodgers connection, that stole the show.

Valdes-Scantling made perhaps his finest play of the season in a crucial moment on Sunday when, facing one-on-one coverage, he torched Rams cornerback Troy Hill, who was playing press coverage.

“We talked about it on the sideline,” Rodgers said of the touchdown at his postgame press conference. “There was a picture (of a previous play) we looked at and it looked like he had gotten on top (of the corner), and I said, ‘What do you want? You want another go route or a stop route?” and (Valdes-Scantling) said, ‘I want a go route.’ So I came back to him, he beat him inside, restacked and made a nice play.”

This is not the first time No. 12 has thrown a compliment Valdes-Scantling’s way. Rodgers also said he liked how Valdes-Scantling worked back to a poorly thrown bubble pass a few weeks ago, handled the ball cleanly and squirted upfield for 10 yards. What could have easily been a two- or three-yard gain ended up as a first-down conversion.

It’s been some time since the Packers have had a genuine deep threat. Janis never fit the bill. Despite his impressive physical talent, he never could earn Rodgers’ trust and always played the receiver position more as an athlete than a craftsman.

Trevor Davis is a similar story. He has good speed, but he has yet to make an impact as a receiver and figures to be a return specialist.

Jordy Nelson in his prime, around 2011 and 2012, was probably the closest thing the Packers had to stretching defenses. At a certain point, the play-action deep post became almost automatic. After Nelson’s speed waned, the Packers haven’t been able to rediscover the deep-ball magic.

But Valdes-Scantling is simply different than some of their more recent experiments. He’s already demonstrated a yearning for growth alongside a professional approach to his job. His size-speed makeup is rare. Combined, these traits give the Packers a vertical element that should stress defenses to a breaking point.

It all works together.

Start with Davante Adams, who looks uncoverable in 2018, many of the league’s best corners trying – and failing – to mitigate his production. With Jimmy Graham, Randall Cobb, Geronimo Allison and even Equanimous St. Brown, Aaron Rodgers shouldn’t find it too difficult to move the ball.

Furthermore, if teams are going to respect Valdes-Scantling’s speed, they just might have to do so at the expense of playing light fronts, which should only help Aaron Jones and the ground attack.

All of this is to say nothing of the offseason implications, of which there will be many. It’s hard to see Randall Cobb in a Packers uniform next year unless he’s willing to stay on at a below-market salary. Although Geronimo Allison will be a restricted free agent, St. Brown’s emergence might nullify Gutekunst’s desire to keep him around as well. More or less, the Packers freed up salary to make a few more splashes in free agency. But that’s another post for another day.

Between Jaire Alexander’s “alpha” performance and Valdes-Scantling’s steady progression, Brian Gutekunst looks to have established his general manager bona fides early.