Last spring, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said his squad lacked a clear No. 1 wide out.
“I want to vomit every time I hear ‘No. 1 receiver,’ to be honest with you,” claimed LaFleur. “It’s driving me insane. That’s something you both talk about. I feel like we’ve got a number of ’em.”
A bunch of “em” refers to the Packers’ large number of non-No. 1 receivers. The Packers are anticipated to address this position during the next draft.
The Green Bay Packers have questions at WR.
With Christian Watson returning from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18, Green Bay is anticipated to be short at receiver on a team that underperformed in 2024. Jayden Reed was the team’s leading pass catcher with 857 yards and six touchdowns on 55 grabs, although no receiver reached 1,000 yards.
Many Green Bay Packers fans want the organization to give quarterback Jordan Love what Aaron Rodgers, a first-round wide receiver, did not get.
According to a Thursday update on the Packers’ draft strategy, ESPN’s Matt Miller and Rob Demovsky do not believe the team is considering adding a receiver in the first round.
“Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made a point of saying this offseason that it has never been an organizational philosophy to skip receivers in the first round,” according to Demovsky. “That said, it’s still hard to feel good about projecting a first-round receiver to the Packers until they actually do it.” While Gutekunst stated that he has not intentionally avoided picking a receiver on the first day, he did state that it is one of the more difficult positions for a rookie to have a quick impact from, which could explain why he has favored other positions in Round 1.
The Packers are looking into defense.
Miller has heard that Green Bay want to bolster defense with their first two picks.
“A rival scout told me that his team expects the Packers to focus on adding defensive players for Jeff Hafley’s scheme in the early rounds,” according to Miller. “He predicted that Green Bay would draft a cornerback in Round 1 and a defensive tackle in the second round before shifting to a value receiver pick in Round 3.”
The Packers desperately need cornerback assistance, given that Jaire Alexander is unlikely to be on the roster in September. The defensive line also needs assistance.
Nonetheless, the Packers made a significant investment in Love, signing him to a four-year, $220 million contract deal in 2024.
They must assure that he can be effective on that contract by assigning him targets that can create plays.
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