The Green Bay Packers are seeing the right mix of growth and energy out of wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks as he enters a pivotal third season in 2025.
Passing game coordinator Jason Vrable believes Wicks — who led all NFL receivers in drop rate last season — was pressing too much early in the year, and a matured “one play at a time” mentality is helping create confidence and a faster play speed.
“I think he’s matured so much,” Vrable said this week, via packers.com. “And you saw at the end of the year when the ball was coming his way there was a real confidence toward the end to get open and make the play. And just do one play at a time. If you watched our practices, the speed that he’s playing at, coach (Luke) Getsy just came back here and was like, ‘Man, this guy is so fast. And he’s practicing so hard.’ And you can see it. He’s in Year 3, and he knows the system, he’s playing with confidence and the energy’s been awesome right now.”
Including the postseason, Wicks caught only 41 of 80 total targets in 2024. He came down with only four of 16 contested targets, and his drop rate was 18 percent, per PFF. Expecting a second-year leap, Wicks dealt with a sophomore slump.
Six of Wicks’ nine drops came during the first nine weeks of 2024. Like many young players, Vrable thought Wicks tried too hard to turn every single play into a big one, and the drops weighed on him as a player.
“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. “I think he really learned to just handle one play at a time. It just happens to some guys. They want to score four touchdowns. They want to have 120 yards. And sometimes like early on in your career you could be open and Jordan (Love) doesn’t look there. Or when he does, you have a drop and then it weighs on you.”
Removing that burden will be vital to Wicks bouncing back in 2025.
Even with first-round pick Matthew Golden and third-round pick Savion Williams now in the mix, Wicks is likely to be a pivotal player in the passing game this season, especially with Christian Watson expected to miss time to start the season. Wicks is the best separator against man coverage in the wide receiver room, and he can be a big-play creator in big spots if the drop issue is rectified.
A 10-touchdown scorer over his first two seasons, Wicks is a talented, quick-twitch mover who is capable and comfortable from several alignments in Matt LaFleur’s offense. Growth will be the key. Can a more mature, confident version of Wicks put a difficult second season in the rear-view mirror and break out as a legitimate playmaker for the Packers in 2025?