LaFleur Sees Need for Speed at Receiver

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur wants speed at receiver. Led by Jameson Williams and Chris Olave, these could be the NFL Draft targets.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ need at receiver is as plane as the nose on your face. The sticker shock at the gas pump. The absurdity of the Oscars.

The Packers traded two-time All-Pro Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders and lost field-stretching Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

Left with only “goon” Allen Lazard and veteran slot Randall Cobb as proven receivers, the Packers will enter next month’s NFL Draft looking for a No. 1 receiver and not a specialist. Still, there’s one trait coach Matt LaFleur is coveting.

“You’ve got to look at the totally of that room and just the collective efforts that each individual brings to that room,” LaFleur said on Tuesday at the NFL Spring Meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. “Certainly, if you look at our roster right now, we definitely need to get some speed in that room. We need a legit guy that can take off the top of the coverage. We lost a guy that was pretty good at doing that.”

That could put the spotlight on these receivers at the top of the draft:

Ohio State’s Chris Olave (4.39): Olave caught 65 passes in 2021 and scored 32 touchdowns the past three seasons. He is a superb route-runner with a ton of polish, but lacks tremendous play strength and isn’t much of a run-after-catch threat. He’s the most NFL-ready receiver of those who could be on the board with Green Bay’s picks at No. 22 and No. 28.

Alabama’s Jameson Williams (DNP): Williams suffered a torn ACL during the national championship game, so he didn’t run at the Scouting Combine and might not be ready to play until well into his rookie season. He’s not strong but his superb speed got him open again and again. Playing against the best competition in the nation, he averaged 20.0 yards on 78 receptions and scored 15 touchdowns.

North Dakota State’s Christian Watson (4.36): This is the receiver the scouts love more than the media punditry. Never mind the level of competition. He has Valdes-Scantling’s combination of height and speed. He’s got enormous hands. He blocked. He dominated the Senior Bowl. As a senior, he caught 43 passes for 801 yards (18.6 average) and seven touchdowns.

Georgia’s George Pickens (4.47): Pickens is the wild card. He had a fabulous freshman season in 2019 and scored 14 touchdowns during his first two seasons. However, he suffered a torn ACL in Spring 2021 and caught five passes at the end of the season. While he doesn’t have elite speed, his height (6-foot-3) and jumping ability give him an edge on deep balls.

If that field-stretcher comes later in the draft, like Valdes-Scantling did in 2018, the fastest receivers at the Combine were Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton (4.28), Tennessee’s Velus Jones (4.31), Memphis’ Calvin Austin (4.32), SMU’s Danny Gray (4.33) and Rutgers’ Bo Melton (4.34).

Given the overall weakness of the receiver room – it might be the worst group at any position for any preseason championship contender – Gutekunst figures to go early and (relatively) often at receiver. A big-time talent with big-time speed could be atop the list.

“It’s like fielding a basketball team. You don’t want to have too many point guards or too many centers. They all have to be able to play off each other,” LaFleur said. “It’s like putting a puzzle together. You’ve got to find those pieces that you’re missing and put it all together.”

Here’s why LaFleur is focused on speed: Lazard is the power player who wins because of physicality and sneaky speed. Cobb is the crafty slot receiver. Last year’s third-round pick, Amari Rodgers, is a slot receiver who the Packers hope can win with quickness. Malik Taylor and Juwann Winfree have played a bit but don’t have one overwhelming trait in their favor.

With so little experience to line up with four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, LaFleur said he has “no idea” what his receiver corps is going to look like in September.

The only certainty is general manager Brian Gutekunst must hit a home run with that early-round pick(s) devoted to that position.

“There are a few requirements that you have to have a receiver. First of all, you better be able to catch the ball,” LaFleur said with a laugh. “Certainly, you look at different guys. Davante was a separator. MVS was our speed guy. I don’t think there’s many that can do everything that’s required or that these top-tier, bona fide No. 1s can do.”