Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks Had All Night to Think About Flea-Flicker

Entering Sunday’s game at the Falcons, Packers rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks had more penalties than catches. And yet, he was the target on the first play of the game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Imagine being Dontayvion Wicks. The Green Bay Packers’ rookie receiver went to bed on Saturday night knowing that he’d be the focal point of a first-play flea-flicker against the Atlanta Falcons.

“We got on the plane and talked and coach said he was calling it first play, so get the mind ready and get ready to roll,” Wicks said.

So, for about 24 hours, Wicks knew the first play of the game could be coming his way. There were two ways the play could have shaken out. The first is Wicks, overcome by excitement, could have choked in the moment. The second is Wicks, having rehearsed the play in his head countless times, could have executed the play exactly as it was drawn up.

“It was fun and I was nervous at the same time because, second game out, first play being called, I got a flea-flicker and I’ve got to sell it for the QB to be able to have an open hole to throw it to,” Wicks explained.

“I knew that was an opportunity, that was a chance, to get a big one. Having the patience that I had to have on that play to get open, that’s all I was thinking about. I wasn’t thinking about the end of the play because I know I trust my preparation and I feel like I have enough confidence to make those plays, so I wasn’t really worried about it.”

That’s a lot of confidence from a player who, at the time, had more penalties (two) than receptions (zero). Wicks sold the play as a run, which brought the cornerback and safety toward the line of scrimmage to tackle AJ Dillon, the original ball-carrier. Dillon flipped the ball back to quarterback Jordan Love, who went deep to Wicks.

Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks gained 44 yards via penalty on his flea-flicker at Atlanta :: Photo by Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports Images)

“It was exciting knowing before the game, before we got to the locker room, that they had that dialed up and we was looking to score first play,” Wicks said. “It was exciting knowing that the whole team knew so, first play we come out, they call it, and they in the same defense we thought they would be.

“Once I went down and seen that he crashed down, I knew it was going to be a big play. So, just running, trying to get the ball, and you know what happened after that.”

What happened is Wicks was tackled by premier cornerback A.J. Terrell. The penalty prevented what might have been a touchdown but handed the Packers a gain of 44.

On Sunday, the Packers will host the New Orleans Saints. Through the way-too-early prism of two games, Green Bay has the highest-rated quarterback in the NFL and is second in points. The Saints are second in opponent passer rating and fifth in points allowed as they approach a milestone accomplishment.

What is Green Bay cooking up for its first play? Will it be the boxing equivalent of a jab, such as a run-of-the-mill running play, or a haymaker, such as the bomb to Christian Watson to open the 2022 season or the chicanery in Atlanta?

“If you can find a tendency on somebody or just see how maybe a safety overplays something or whatever it is, taking advantage of someone’s overaggressiveness, something like that, that’s definitely what plays into why you want to do it,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “And then it just depends on when you want to do it. We just kind of wanted to go out and set the tone and go for a big play.”

Extra Point on Wicks

On Thursday morning, we published this story on Wicks. This quote from Stenavich on Thursday afternoon would have fit the theme to that story:

“He’s got a good foundation with his route running and things like that, and he’s always been a physical player. He’s a big guy. He’s strong. So, getting off press, getting open, he’s had a natural ability to do that, getting off the line. And then in the run game, too, he’s been a pretty physical guy blocking people. When he showed up, you could see it, he had it in his body.

“But then he’s done a very good job and he’s a pretty intelligent guy of figuring out, ‘OK, where do I line up? How do I do this? How do I do that?’ So, he’s done a good job with that and, obviously, (receivers) coach (Jason) Vrable and Q (assistant Quinshon Odom) have done a good job of getting him ready.”

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