3 Iowa offensive players who should be getting the ball more in every game

Iowa's offense is struggling and has been struggling for the last two weeks. This is not new news to anyone within the Iowa organization or around the Iowa fan base.

There are a lot of reasons the Hawkeyes offense has struggled so far this season. It starts with play calling adn trickles its way down from there. The offensive line is not giving quarterback Cade McNamara much time. McNamara can't be quick in his decision-making and get the ball out of his hands. Receivers are not able to catch the passes, and so on.

It is not just one thing that will be able to fix this offense, but there is something this Iowa offense can do to help it get better with each week.

Get the ball to the playmakers!

Iowa has quite a few playmakers on this team, but the ball isn't finding them. So here are three Iowa players who should be getting more touches as the season goes on.

Freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee went off in Week 1 against Illinois State and helped the Hawkeyes get their offense going when they had nothing. Vander Zee had five receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns in that Week 1 game and looked like he could become the Hawkeye's leading receiver as the season went on.

In the last two weeks, however, Vander Zee has seen only one receptions for 10 yards, and that came in the second half against Iowa State. It is almost like the Hawkeyes forgot they had a very talented receiver on their roster, a position they have struggled to get going in the past few seasons.

Vander Zee doesn't and shouldn't be getting ten targets a game, but getting him worked more into the offense and creating more weapons for defenses to cover is something that can only help the Hawkeyes. Plus, he has the most touchdowns of any receiver on the team so far, and that was just in Week 1.

Everyone knows that Iowa can produce tight ends better than any other program out there. They have produced George Kittle, TJ Hockenson, Sam LaPorta, and Noah Fant for the NFL, and all four are elite players for their teams. So why can't the Hawkeyes learn to use the tight end position more?

Luke Lachey is by far the best tight end on the roster for Iowa, and he can do it all. He can block on the line, in the field, he can catch, and he can run effectively. So, how has he only had nine receptions in three games this season? Yes, Lachey was coming off an injury from last season, but he has looked good in every game, the ball just isn't finding him.

The other crazy part is that Lachey has yet to catch a touchdown pass this season. Last season, McNamara loved going to Lachey as his favorite target before they both were injured early in the season. With a whole offseason to work and fall camp, this connection should be even stronger. Lachey needs to get involved more if the Iowa offense wants to get better.

This one might seem crazy, as Johnson is already carrying the lion's share of the offense on his back, but if it isn't broken, don't stop using it. Johnson is responsible for the majority of Iowa's success on offense, with 479 yards. McNamara only has 528 passing yards, just 49 more yards than Johnson has rushing.

Johnson was the only Hawkeyes to find the end zone against Iowa State and was the reason the Hawkeyes were in that game the whole time. Clearly, Johnson is a star in this offense, and defenses have tried to game plan against him but can't seem to find a way to stop him, even with questionable offensive line play for Iowa.

Obviously Johnson can't run the ball on every down, but if the run game is working with him, keep feeding him the ball until other parts of the offense can get figured out as the season goes on.