Green Bay Packers
Janis was selected in the seventh round (236th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFL draft. [11] [12] [13] Janis was the first Saginaw Valley State Cardinal drafted since offensive guard Todd Herremans in 2005, and the first wide receiver in school history to be drafted, though his early role on the team was more on the special teams rather than taking snaps at wide receiver. [14]
Janis made his NFL debut on September 28, 2014, against the Chicago Bears, but he recorded no official statistics. [15] He appeared in one more game, which was against the Miami Dolphins, in the 2014 season. [16]
In the 2015 season, Janis appeared in all 16 games in the regular season as a kick returner and backup receiver. [17] His two receptions for 79 yards against the San Diego Chargers were his only receiving statistics for the regular season. [18] He had a breakout game in the NFC Divisional Round game on January 16, 2016, against the Arizona Cardinals. He caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard Hail Mary pass from Aaron Rodgers on the final play of regulation to bring the game into overtime. The Packers, however, lost 26–20 in overtime. [1] 101 of these yards came on the game-tying drive to end regulation; he also caught a 60-yard pass on 4th and 20 from the Packers' 4-yard line to set up the tying score. [19]
On August 10, 2016, Janis fractured at least one of the bones in his right hand during a ball-security drill at Packers training camp. [20] He remained in a backup role in the 2016 season. He had a receiving touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in a 33–32 loss. Overall, in the 2016 season, he recorded 11 receptions for 93 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in addition to a 19-yard rushing touchdown, which occurred against the Seattle Seahawks. [21] [22] In the 2017 season, he mainly had a special teams role. He recorded two receptions for 12 yards and three kick returns for 43 net yards. [23]
