How Young Are Packers’ Receivers? Here’s the Answer

We examined all 32 NFL receiver corps and came up with a predictable answer: The Green Bay Packers’ receiver corps is incredibly young.
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Just how young and inexperienced is the Green Bay Packers’ receiver corps?

Well, you’ll be shocked to find out, it’s the youngest in the league by a significant margin. The oldest receiver on the roster is Jeff Cotton. Cotton, who turned 26 on April 17, played one offensive snap for Jacksonville as a rookie in 2021.

The graybeards of the position are second-year players Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. Watson, who will turn 24 on May 12, and Doubs, who turned 23 on April 13, have to lead the way.

“They’re the only two experienced guys in our room right now,” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said after the draft.

The 10-man receiver corps has only:

- Three players who’ve played more than one snap in a regular-season game.

- Three players who’ve been with the team for a calendar year.

- 88 career receptions; 10 individual receivers had more last year.

With Randall Cobb joining the New York Jets, there probably isn’t a veteran receiver worth signing. Of the entire list of free-agent receivers, only one played even one-third of the snaps last year. The list is filled with well-past-their-prime players and first-round busts.

Obviously, young and inexperienced doesn’t mean untalented. Seven of Green Bay’s receivers were draft picks, including Bo Melton, a seventh-rounder by Seattle last year who the Packers signed off the Seahawks’ practice squad in late December.

A Packer Central examination of the 32 teams’ rosters showed:

- 16 teams had at least one receiver who was 30 years old.

- 31 teams had at least three receivers with more than two years of experience. The Packers, obviously, being the exception. Those 31 teams have an average of 6.10 receivers with three-plus years of experience.

- Taking Green Bay out of the equation (and ignoring Patriots receiver Matthew Slater, who is only a special teams player), the most-experienced receiver for each team averages 8.65 years of experience.

Here is a look at the 32 NFL receiver corps listed by the numbers of receivers with more than two years of experience. Ages are as of May 4.

New York Giants

Oldest: Sherling Shepard, 30. Most experience: Jamison Crowder, 9 years. More than two years of experience: 9.

Cleveland Browns

Oldest: Marquise Goodwin, 32. Most experience: Goodwin, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 8.

Las Vegas Raiders

Oldest: Four players, including Davante Adams, 30. Most experience: Adams, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 8.

Baltimore Ravens

Oldest: Odell Beckham, 30. Most experience: Beckham and Nelson Agholor, 9 years. More than two years of experience: 8.

New York Jets

Oldest: Randall Cobb, 32. Most experience: Cobb, 13 years. More than two years of experience: 7.

Carolina Panthers

Oldest: Adam Thielen, 32. Most experience: Thielen, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 7.

Arizona Cardinals

Oldest: DeAndre Hopkins, 30. Most experience: Hopkins, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 7.

Miami Dolphins

Oldest: Tyreek Hill, Chosen Anderson, 29. Most experience: Hill and Anderson, 9 years. More than two years of experience: 7.

Denver Broncos

Oldest: Tim Patrick, 29. Most experience: Courtland Sutton and Patrick, 6 years. More than two years of experience: 7.

New England Patriots

Oldest: Matthew Slater, 37 (DeVante Parker and Ty Montgomery, 30. Most experience: Slater, 16 years (Parker and Montgomery, 9 years). More than two years of experience (including Slater): 6.

Detroit Lions

Oldest: Marvin Jones, 33. Most experience: Jones, 12 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Oldest: Allen Robinson, 29. Most experience: Robinson, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

San Francisco 49ers

Oldest: Chris Conley and Willie Snead, 30. Most experience: Conley, 9 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Buffalo Bills

Oldest: Stefon Diggs, 29. Most experience: Diggs, 9 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Cincinnati Bengals

Oldest: Tyler Boyd, 28. Most experience: Boyd, 8 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Indianapolis Colts

Oldest: Isaiah McKenzie, 28. Most experience: McKenzie, 7 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Washington Commanders

Oldest: Alex Erickson, 30. Most experience: Erickson, 7 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Kansas City Chiefs

Oldest: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, 28. Most experience: Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson and Richie James, 6 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Chicago Bears

Oldest: Dante Pettis, Daurice Fountain and Nsimba Webster, 27. Most experience: D.J. Moore, Equanimeous St. Brown and Pettis, 6 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Philadelphia Eagles

Oldest: Devon Allen, 28. Most experience: A.J. Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus, 5 years. More than two years of experience: 6.

Houston Texans

Oldest: Robert Woods, 31. Most experience: Woods, 11 years. More than two years of experience: 5.

Dallas Cowboys

Oldest: Brandin Cooks, 29. Most experience: Cooks, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 5.

Los Angeles Rams

Oldest: Cooper Kupp, 29. Most experience: Kupp, 7 years. More than two years of experience: 5.

Minnesota Vikings

Oldest: Brandon Powell, 27. Most experience: Powell, 6 years. More than two years of experience: 5.

Los Angeles Chargers

Oldest: Keenan Allen, 31. Most experience: Allen, 11 years. More than two years of experience: 4.

New Orleans Saints

Oldest: Michael Thomas, 30. Most experience: Thomas, 8 years. More than two years of experience: 4.

Atlanta Falcons

Oldest: Mack Hollins, 29. Most experience: Hollins, 7 years. More than two years of experience: 4.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Oldest: Zay Jones and Jamal Agnew, 28. Most experience: Jones and Agnew, 7 years. More than two years of experience: 4.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Oldest: Mike Evans, 29. Most experience: Evans, 10 years. More than two years of experience: 3.

Seattle Seahawks

Oldest: Tyler Lockett, 30. Most experience: Lockett, 9 years. More than two years of experience: 3.

Tennessee Titans

Oldest: Chris Moore, 29. Most experience: Moore, 8 years. More than two years of experience: 3.

Green Bay Packers

Oldest: Jeff Cotton (26). Most experience: Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure, 2 years. More than two years of experience: 0.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.