The "illusion of complexity" is what Matt LaFleur wants for this Green Bay Packers' offense. Meaning, regardless of personnel, LaFleur wants to run plays that start out looking the same, but they're actually different, and they'll run the same concepts, but in a number of different ways. 

This requires a versatile group of players, which the Packers do have, but after being a midseason addition that saved the punt return unit in 2019, it is Tyler Ervin who could be an X-Factor in this offense and help LaFleur achieve that "illusion of complexity."

Ervin saved a punt return team that was on a historically bad pace in terms of return yardage, but we also saw his role with the offense slowly expand in the final weeks of the season. Ervin's stats on offense weren't eye-popping by any means; in fact, during the regular season, he had just 11 receiving yards on two receptions and 10 rushing yards.

However, what we saw was his versatility with his ability to line up in the backfield, in the slot, and out wide, while also being used on jet-sweep motions. We also saw the potential that Ervin has in this offense with LaFleur. During Green Bay's Week 17 matchup with Detroit, Ervin had a step on his defender but was overthrown on what would have been a touchdown reception. Then in the Divisional Round against Seattle, Ervin nearly broke a big run but was tripped up just as he was about to break away. 

Entering the new season, all signs point to Ervin playing a much bigger role, and as LaFleur said a few weeks back, they're going to give him those opportunities to show what he can do (via Packers Wire):

“He displayed that last season in the return game. He’s an explosive player. He’s pretty elusive,” LaFleur said. “We have Adam Stenavich, who was his o-line coach for a year at San Jose State. He’s been in our ear about what kind of playmaker ‘Swerve’ can be. We’re just going to continue to give him opportunities to see what he can do.”

By all accounts, Ervin has taken advantage of those opportunities in training camp. Although listed as a running back last season, for much of camp, he has spent time with the receivers and could emerge as one of Aaron Rodgers' top targets out of the slot where he's made a number of plays in camp. But even if that's the case, don't expect Ervin to be playing from just that one position, as Rodgers points out, LaFleur will take advantage of his skill-set and continue to move him around:

“We saw what he could do in space, and he just became a bigger part of our offense. I remember, there was a lot of conversation about next year, and we really had to think about how he could get the ball more in space, a few more opportunities,” Rodgers said. “As you’ve seen throughout training camp, he’s lined up at a lot of different positions. He’s played some receiver stuff. He’s played in the backfield. We’ve given him the ball. We’ve thrown him the ball. He’s a very versatile guy.”

Versatile indeed, and it's going to be that versatility that helps give this Green Bay Packers' offense that element of unpredictability. 

While much of the offseason was spent focusing on what the Packers don't have rather than what they do have - which is a pretty talented team - what seems to be forgotten about is that this is an offense built for what Matt LaFleur wants to run. It's a group of interchangeable and highly versatile players that will help LaFleur achieve that "illusion of complexity." And that certainly includes Tyler Ervin.