By: Paul Bretl 7/12/2024
With Green Bay Packers training camp less than two weeks away, I’ll be doing a position-by-position preview. Next up are the wide receivers.
If you missed any of the previous position previews, you can find them below:
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Tight ends
Roster: Romeo Doubs, Grant DuBose, Malik Heath, Julian Hicks, Alex McGough, Bo Melton, Jayden Reed, Dimitri Stanley, Samori Toure, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks
Does having a No. 1 target matter? Are there situations where having a go-to option in the passing game is massive asset? Of course there are. But for the Packers, one of the strengths of this offense from late last season was that nearly regardless of the situation they faced, they ball could go to any one of the six receivers.
From the defensive perspective, this forces them to defend the entire field. They can’t just hone in on one or even two players. This leads to better spacing, and more room to operate, and more one-on-one matchups as well. Amplifying this element is Jordan Love’s willingness to spread the ball around. For the most part, he hasn’t focused in on one or two of his receivers, but instead goes where the read dictates based on how the defense is defending the play.
“I personally don’t think it matters,” said LaFleur when asked about having a No. 1 receiver. “I think if you just look at throughout the course of a season ago – and every season’s going to be a little bit different – but all those guys had their moments where they were the leading receiver in a game. I feel really good about the collective unit. The hardest part is we feel so good about them, it’s hard to get everybody the amount of touches that you’d like to get, but that’s a good problem to have.”
Now, with all that said, that doesn’t mean that this season someone won’t emerge as that go-to target for Love–the Packers certainly have several candidates. But even if someone doesn’t, that isn’t going to be a devastating blow to the offense by any means.
Christian Watson is fully healthy: Perhaps the biggest development this offseason at the receiver position is that the Packers feel they have a much better grasp on Watson’s hamstring issues. Watson–along with Eric Stokes–went to UW-Madison this offseason to go through additional testing to hopefully figure out why those hamstring injuries kept reoccurring.
The Packers and Watson have a plan in place now to make sure he stays on the field as much as possible. While, ultimately, time will tell, Watson entered the offseason in excellent shape.
“Time will tell,” said LaFleur about Watson. “Certainly you’ve got to get through the entire offseason, into training camp. There’s a lot of volume in training camp, so we get through that, then we’ll feel pretty good about it. Both he and Stokes look like they’re probably in the best shape I’ve seen either one of them.”
For this Packers’ offense to reach its full potential, having Watson on the field is a must. There is the obvious big play element that he adds, but his presence and gravity helps open up opportunities for others with the attention he draws. When Watson is on the field, defenses defend the Packers differently.
“He gives different looks for defenses with his speed, big play ability,” said Jayden Reed last season about Watson. “We get different looks. When he’s out there, you have to know he’s out there as a defense. 9 being out there, you have to be aware of that. No doubt that’ll help out the whole offense, executing and everything.”
Romeo Doubs has been “outstanding”: While Watson dealt with injuries last season and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks got acclimated to the NFL level, it was Doubs who provided a steady presence at the receiver position. For one, he was consistently available, but he was also a reliable target for Love in some key situations.
Against the Los Angeles Chargers, Doubs caught the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes. On a fourth-and-one in the second half against Kansas City, Doubs caught a 33 yard pass from Love that put the Packers at the 11 yard line. Then in Carolina, Doubs caught a 36 yard pass on third down, which then led to the go-ahead field goal. And then, of course, there was Doubs’ 151 yard performance in the playoffs against Dallas, followed by him putting up 83 yards against San Francisco.
In a receiver room loaded with talent, Doubs was first in targets, second in receptions, first in yards, and first in touchdowns. Doubs has now carried that late season momentum into the offseason, showcasing his work ethic as he always has and honing his craft.
“I think Rome’s had an outstanding spring,” said LaFleur. “I really do, and it’s evident by the work he puts in on a daily basis. He’s in there in the morning catching off the JUGS. He’s one of the last guys to leave the building. He’s very deliberate about the work he puts in and I think it’s shown.
“And you know, we challenged him on a couple things we thought he could really do a better job of with, and just continuing to stress the importance of opening up his stride and he’s embraced that. And I think you’ve seen that and I think he’s had a lot of great moments. Matter of fact, I can’t think of a bad day that he’s had out there. He just, he is definitely improving.”
Year 2 leaps for Reed and Wicks: Oftentimes the biggest developmental leap for a player comes between their first and second NFL seasons. There is the familiarity and continuity of knowing the system. They’re more comfortable with the NFL game, and instead of focusing on the draft, these players have a full offseason to devote to their games.
“Yeah, it makes it way better, just knowing the offense already coming in,” said Wicks. “Last year, I spent a lot of time writing down plays and studying plays, which makes you play slower. This year, now that I know the plays a little better, it’s easier to get out on the field and play faster and not think a lot.”
While it’s only OTAs and minicamp, where the pads aren’t even on, you can see that comfortability that Wicks and Reed have within the offense with how smoothly the passing game was operating at times. There weren’t necessarily many flashy plays, but they knew where and how to attack the defense, which created separation, and led to numerous 9-10 yard completions as the offense moved the ball down the field.
Wicks and Reed bring different elements to the Packers offense–Wicks with his route running ability and Reed with his explosiveness–but both were highly productive as rookies. Wicks would catch 41 passes for 605 yards with five scores. Reed caught 68 passes for 828 yards with eight touchdowns, and both were among the most efficient receivers in football during the second half of the season by PFF’s yards per route run metric.
This offseason, the two would not only workout together but they shared a home, helping one another and trying to bring out the best in each other.
“Just learning from each other,” said Wicks, “going through the things that we did this last year that we can change and get better at it. It was me helping him out with routes and giving him some stuff, and him helping me, too. It all worked out.”
Bo Melton brings more than speed: As LaFleur mentioned, Melton has an elite trait: his speed. Coming out of Rutgers in 2022, Melton ran a 4.34-second 40. However, while that’s important, it’s Melton’s well-rounded skill set and his mentality that helped him earn the opportunities that he got last season, and the ones he’ll continue to earn in 2024.
Melton isn’t only a downfield threat with his speed, but he has the versatility to line up both inside and out, along with LaFleur being able to draw up designed plays to get him the ball in space where his speed and YAC abilities can take over. From Week 15 on last year, Melton ranked 7th among all receivers in yards per route run.
However, in addition to what he can do with the ball in his hands, Melton was also able to impact the game by contributing on special teams and as a very good run-blocker.
“One thing that’s unique – and I think this is important for every position – is you always try to find what the guys can do, and what they do really well,” said LaFleur. “Bo’s got an elite trait. He can run. Certainly any time you can add value in other areas, whether it’s on we-fense or like for Bo, Bo’s one of our best run blockers as well.
“He’s not the biggest guy, but it’s the mentality that he has. He’s got that dog mentality, whether it’s run game, pass game, whatever it may be. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to get out there on the field, and I think he’s embraced that. He’s embraced his role and he’s excelled in it.”
Another competitive training camp for Malik Heath: If I were putting together an early roster prediction, I would have Malik Heath on it. However, I wouldn’t quite put him in the roster lock category either. And in a competitive receiver room, he’ll have to earn that roster spot again this summer.
“Oh, it’s going to be competitive,” Heath said of the upcoming battle in his position group. “We’ve got a lot of receivers, a lot of great DBs over there on the other side of the ball. It’s going to be fun.”
Along with Watson, Doubs, Reed, Wicks, and Melton making plays during offseason programs, Heath got in on the action too, with his share of receptions, including a touchdown catch from Love in an 11-on-11 team period. Heath would catch 15 of 24 passes during his rookie season, totaling 125 yards, and scoring one touchdown, which came at a crucial point in the final minutes of the Giants game.
“That was the best option we had for that play, but at the same time, I was very confident Malik was going to win that 1-on-1 matchup,” Love said. “Because he’s shown so many times he has that ability, that if you throw it up, he’s going to go up and make a play. He’s got aggressive hands and attacks the ball.”
Heath would also contribute on special teams and perhaps early on in his time with the Packers, was best known for the physicality he brings to the receiver position specifically as a blocker.
“Coming in as undrafted, I’m going to do anything I gotta do, you feel me, to make this team, to make plays for my team,” he said. “That’s just what it comes (down to), being a goon, being a dog. Gotta be that in this league, you know.”
Similarly to Reed and Wicks, with Heath in his second season, there is an added comfort within the offense. He also is down a few pounds this offseason from where he was playing at in 2023.
“Malik’s another guy that, certainly he had some really big moments for us last year,” said LaFleur, “making some tough catches, doing some dirty work, some key blocks. And I think physically he’s in a much better place. He’s a little bit lighter. Obviously he knows the offense a heck of a lot better, so it allows you to play faster and you can move him around a little bit more. So, we’re really excited to see him and what he can do once we get to the preseason and those game-like situations.”
Grant DuBose and Samori Toure: As I’ve already mentioned, in expecting Heath to make the initial roster, that likely leaves DuBose and Toure off of it. With such a crowded receiver room, I’m not sure that the team can justify rostering seven, which then takes away from another position.
With that said, I do think you’ll hear DuBose’s name a fair amount this summer. In his second offseason–and fully healthy this time–he looked more refined and was a favorite target of Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt with the second and third team offenses.
Toure would finish last season on IR. He caught eight passes on 18 targets for 78 yards. He would play only three special teams snaps, and when it comes to competing for any back-end roster spot, the ability to contribute to that phase of the game is crucial.
Alex McGough is now a receiver: McGough was the Packers’ practice squad quarterback last season, but is making the jump to playing wide receiver for this training camp. Even though he was a quarterback in 2023, the Packers had already begun utilizing him as a pass-catcher on the scout team during practices.
“He’s a really athletic guy,” said LaFleur, “and one thing that you guys probably, I know you didn’t see last year is, he spent a lot of time on the practice squad or on the scout team running receiver routes, and he did such a great job and we feel like he’s just such a talented athlete, why not give him a chance there? He’s a smart guy, works his tail off, I think he can definitely contribute on we-fense as well, so we felt like that might be his best chance here.”
In an already crowded receiver room, cracking the initial 53-man roster for any non-established player will be difficult and that difficulty becomes magnified when a position change is taking place as well. While McGough is a good athlete, there is a lot of “intricate details,” as he put it, that he is having to learn on the fly.
“Obviously, it’s just completely different from what I’m used to,” said McGough. “But it’s good. Everybody’s helping me out, teaching me little things here and there. Watching the vets – not that we really have any vets – but watching the guys who have done it their whole life. And it’s been good.
“Obviously, there’s so much that I need to learn and so much that goes into it that I didn’t even know about. Kind of just doing what I thought was the right thing. There are all these intricate details that you don’t know about until you get in a room and you get taught them. It’s been helping a lot.”
Julian Hicks and Dimitri Stanley: Both Hicks and Stanley are 2024 undrafted rookies who didn’t initially sign with the Packers following the draft, but joined the team following a tryout during rookie minicamp.
Coming out of Albany, Hicks stands 6-2 – 201 pounds and posted a RAS of 9.18. Over his career, he caught 52 percent of his 262 targets, averaging 12.3 yards per catch with 23 touchdowns. In 2023 specifically, Hicks averaged an impressive 16.4 yards per catch and ranked fifth at the FCS level in average depth of target.
Stanley played out Iowa State and is listed at 6-0 – 200 pounds. In six college seasons, Stanley caught 118 of his 182 targets at 11.7 yards per catch with five touchdowns. He also had 30 career punt return attempts, averaging 8.5 yards per return.