Third in a series.
GREEN BAY — The moment Jason Vrable said it last summer — around the same time head coach Matt LaFleur was telling everyone that No. 1 wide receiver talk made him want to “vomit” — it all made sense.
As the offensive passing-game coordinator — and before that, the wide receivers coach — Vrable knew the Green Bay Packers’ wideouts better than anyone. He spoke frequently about the “brotherhood” they felt, about the Kumbaya vibes in the room, but he also acknowledged the flipside: That, when so many competitors are thrown together, there are going to be inherent challenges, too.
And so, it carried some serious weight when the tell-it-like-it-is Vrable said the quiet out loud about the stark reality of how the No. 1 wide receiver would be determined:
Whichever one got paid.
“Guys are going to come up on their fourth year [and the team is] going to have to [decide whether to] let a guy go or sign a guy back [before hitting free agency],” Vrable said last August.
“Typically, the No. 1 becomes that when they’ve proven themselves over and over and over again, and then they eventually get paid by our building because we believe in them that much to get us to a Super Bowl. That’s why you do it.
“So, for our guys, they’re still learning and growing. Through your experiences, you mold [yourself] and you become that to the point where you’re almost unguardable.”
In truth, none of the four wide receivers atop the Packers’ depth chart — Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson from the 2022 draft, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks from the 2023 draft, and rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams from this year’s draft — have reached “unguardable” status.
There’s no question Watson, Doubs, Reed and Wicks have had their stellar moments, but none of them has played at an elite level on a consistent basis. If one or two of them had, it seems unlikely that general manager Brian Gutekunst would have picked Golden in the first round in April — marking the first time since 2002 that the Packers took a wideout in Round 1.
“I think the challenge, for every player, is, ‘How consistently can you go out there and play your best football?’” head coach Matt LaFleur said last month.
Whether that happens with someone from the current group remains to be seen, but as quarterback Jordan Love recalled from his time backing up four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers — and watching Rodgers’ connectivity with No. 1 wide receiver Davante Adams — everything changes when the QB has one of those “unguardable” guys on his side.
“We need to keep growing, keep finding that consistency just being on the same page with each other, every play,” Love said. “That’s going to be the test for us this year — how close can we get, how much can we be on the same page. Because [during] my time with Aaron and Davante, just being able to see two guys being on the same page, flowing, knowing where they’re going to be at, it’s tough for defenses to stop that.”
Here’s a closer look at the wide receiver position as the Packers prepare for training camp, which kicks off with its first practice on July 23:
Depth Chart
No.
Name
Ht.
Wt.
Age
Exp.
College
11
Jayden Reed
5-11
187
25
3
Michigan State
87
Romeo Doubs
6-2
204
25
4
Nevada
9
Christian Watson
6-4
208
26
4
North Dakota State
13
Dontayvion Wicks
6-1
206
24
3
Virginia
22
Matthew Golden
5-11
191
21
R
Texas
80
Bo Melton
5-11
189
26
2
Rutgers
18
Malik Heath
6-2
213
25
3
Mississippi
83
Savion Williams
6-4
222
23
R
TCU
6
Mecole Hardman
5-10
187
27
7
Georgia
81
Julian Hicks
6-2
201
25
1
Albany
84
Cornelius Johnson
6-3
212
24
1
Michigan
17
Sam Brown Jr.
6-2
200
22
R
Miami (Fla.)
Burning Question | How soon will Watson be back — and how effective will he be?
When Watson tore the ACL in his right knee during the Jan. 5 regular-season finale against Chicago at Lambeau Field, the timing couldn’t have been much worse.
For one, he shouldn’t have been on the field in the first place, suiting up only because Doubs felt ill and couldn’t play. On top of that, to suffer such an injury so late in the season, it made it virtually impossible for Watson to be ready for the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against Detroit.
Or did it?
Watson didn’t do anything other than watch and stretch with his teammates during the offseason program, but he started running straight ahead during some practices on the side, and earlier this summer he posted videos on social media of him cutting and running routes, albeit not at full speed.
The Packers haven’t tipped their hand on whether Watson will be able to practice at any point during camp or if he’ll start the regular season on the physically unable to perform list or injured reserve.
And while LaFleur has been impressed by Watson’s work, he’s not getting his hopes up just yet.
“The guys who are available, that’s who you coach, and that’s kind of where you focus,” LaFleur said. “It is exciting to see how far along he is. He’s been doing a great job. He attacks it the right way. I think our trainers have done an outstanding job with him. And I think he’s in the best spot possible, considering the circumstance.
“He will give us a boost whenever he comes back.”
On the rise | Wicks.
While his drop issues during the first half of the season were undeniable, Wicks did something that Reed did not: He fixed the problem before year’s end. Quietly, he finished the season on the upswing.
Five of Wicks’ nine drops came in the first five games, but just two came in the final eight games. He had at least four receptions in four of the final six games, catching 22 of 30 targets for 198 yards, giving Love a 101.8 passer rating on throws targeting Wicks.
After catching 39 passes for 581 yards and four touchdowns on 58 targets as a rookie, then caught 39 passes for 415 yards and five TDs on 75 targets last season. If he parlays his strong finish into a strong start, Wicks could emerge as one of Love’s go-to targets.
“I think early in the year, he wanted the results so bad. He wanted to catch the ball and score. He was getting open, and then he would have a bad drop and everybody would be so upset over him and he’d be down on himself,” Vrable said. “You could feel [how] it was almost like the whole world’s weighing on him.
“I just told him, ‘Man, just let your work take care of itself. And every day you show up, outwork everybody in this room.’ And you saw at the end of the year when the ball was coming his way, there was a real confidence to get open and make the play.”
Player to watch | Reed.
Reed, who has led the Packers in receptions and receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, was the opposite of Wicks during the closing stretch of the season, managing only 11 catches for 164 yards and no touchdowns over the final five games. LaFleur attributed that drop in productivity to Reed being “a little bit banged up” late in the year.
As a result of his late struggles, Reed went from catching 64 passes for 793 yards and eight touchdowns on 94 targets as a rookie to catching 55 passes for 857 yards and six touchdowns on 75 targets last season.
Reed made post-draft headlines when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Reed’s new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had spoken with Gutekunst about his client’s role in the offense. While Reed said the meeting was “misinterpreted,” it’s obvious that Reed must get his groove back for the offense to succeed.
“I’m not the type to care about targets. I really don’t care about it,” Reed insisted. “I could have two targets, and if we win, I don’t care. You know what I’m saying? That’s just how I look at things. I’m a very unselfish person.”
Key competition | Across the board.
This is essentially what Gutekunst wanted when he drafted three wide receivers in 2022 and again in 2023. Four of those six draft picks remain, two non-draftees (Melton and Heath) have had their moments, and now two more draft picks (Golden and Williams) have been added to the mix.
Gutekunst is a firm believer in the idea of competition bringing out the best in everyone, but there still are only so many roster spots available at the position.
And, frankly, there are nine wide receivers who are NFL-caliber players deserving of a roster spot on the 53. And the one whose odds are probably the longest is Hardman, who just so happens to have done something no one else in the group has: Catch the game-winning touchdown in a Super Bowl.
“I’m all for it,” Hardman said. “I’ve been in the league seven years, so I’ve never been the type to shy away from competition. I’ve been in stacked rooms before. The competition makes everything great.”
Bold prediction | Golden will crack the 1,000-yard mark as a rookie.
Over the past five seasons, seven rookie wideouts have authored 1,000-yard seasons: The Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (1,486 yards in 2023); Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase (1,455 yards in 2021); Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (1,400 yards in 2020); Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas (1,282 yards in 2024); the New York Giants’ Malik Nabers (1,204 in 2024); the Los Angeles Chargers’ Ladd McConkey (1,149 in 2024); and the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson (1,103 in 2022).
For Golden to join that group, he’ll have to quickly prove he deserves more playing time and more targets than the four established veterans with NFL experience ahead of him on the depth chart.
Next: Tight ends.
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