Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks Lead Packers’ Pass-Catcher Power Rankings

The Packers have rarely had their full disposal of pass catchers available this season. Should they ever have that, the group is diverse and complements each other well, but who should take the majority of the snaps?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Despite the disappointment of back-to-back losses, the Green Bay Packers’ arrow is pointing up because of the emergence of the offense.

Jordan Love has been mostly excellent the last six weeks, thanks in part to the rapid development of his fleet of young pass-catchers. All those players have made plays as the offense has continued to progress.

They've done that despite rarely being on the field at the same time.

While all the players have made plays, there are only so many snaps and targets to go around. That's led to some debate as to who those snaps and targets should go to.

Everyone loves a good power rankings list. Here are our rankings of the team's pass-catchers with some projections beyond 2023.

Christian Watson

If it's been said once, it's been said a million times.

One of the criticisms of the receiving corps is that it lacks a true No. 1.

Looking around the league, this corps does not have a player like Davante Adams, who starred in Green Bay and spearheaded back-to-back MVP seasons for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

There is only one player on the roster with that type of upside, and that is Christian Watson.

Watson has struggled with injuries and acclimating to a new quarterback. But, when he is right, there is no denying his skill-set.

Watson struggled through the start of his rookie season before bursting onto the scene with a three-touchdown performance against the Dallas Cowboys.

Watson was heavily involved in the best two-game stretch of this season, as the Packers piled up points and yards against Detroit and Kansas City. He had 12 catches, 165 yards and three touchdowns during those two games, but suffered another hamstring injury that has knocked him out of the last two games.

“It’s unfortunate,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the Packers' 27-19 win over Kansas City. “I think his play has really taken off and I think that’s been a big catalyst for our offense. That touchdown catch he had vs. the all-out pressure was phenomenal. Jordan did a great job of hanging in there and giving him a ball, and he went up and he’s making some plays."

While this season has not resembled the one that Watson was hoping for, he has a dynamic skill-set and limitless potential.

Green Bay may need another receiver, but they may have an alpha on their roster.

Dontayvion Wicks

Like a Kwik Trip in Green Bay, Dontayvion Wicks is always open.

According to Pro Football Focus, of the rookie’s 48 targets, only four have been considered contested.

Wicks is coming off the best game of his young career, when he led the team with 97 receiving yards vs. the Buccaneers. Wicks has flashed ability after the ball is in his hands, including an impressive juke of Tampa Bay's star safety, Antoine Winfield Jr.

A fifth-round pick this year, he almost certainly would have been selected earlier had he entered the 2022 NFL Draft rather than returning to Virginia for his senior season. Instead, a coaching change and dropped passes caused his production and draft stock to plummet.

He's been a steal for Green Bay, though.

What has been most impressive about Wicks might be his toughness.

He suffered a high-ankle sprain in a loss to the New York Giants but played six days later. Depending on the severity, that's an injury that can sideline players for up to six weeks.

“The team needed me, so I’m going to do whatever I can do help the team,” Wicks said. “I felt like I could go and it wouldn’t limit me. It’s going to hurt but I look at it as it’s either hurting or it’s hurt and I wasn’t hurt, so I was able to play and be me, so I went out.”

Jayden Reed

Jayden Reed was the second of two pass-catchers the Packers selected in the second round this year.

The Packers had been searching for a dynamic slot receiver since the days of Randall Cobb running free in the middle of the field. They've tried a lot of players in that spot but appear to have struck gold with Reed.

Reed has been relied on as a pass catcher and in the run game. He leads the team in catches (54), yards (592) and total touchdowns (eight) and is No. 2 in receiving touchdowns (six).

Campbell on X Post: ‘I’m Not Talking About Nothing’

According to the Packers' Dope Sheet, Reed is one of two NFL players this season to record 100-plus rushing yards, multiple rushing touchdowns, multiple receptions of 50-plus yards, 500-plus receiving yards and at least six touchdown receptions.

The other player? San Francisco's MVP candidate, Christian McCaffery.

The only other rookie in NFL history? Tyreek Hill with the Chiefs in 2016.

Reed seems to be well on his way to joining the second-round receiver lineage of Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, Cobb and Watson.

Luke Musgrave/Tucker Kraft

These two are listed together, because their careers are likely intertwined.

A second-round pick, Luke Musgrave represented the highest investment Green Bay has made at tight end since Bubba Franks was selected in the first round in 2000.

Musgrave was the starting tight end from the day he stepped foot on the field and was starting to flash some of his big-play potential before a kidney injury knocked him out of the last three games and for perhaps the rest of the season.

If Musgrave's season is over, he'll finish with 33 catches, 341 yards and a touchdown. Had he stayed healthy, he would have obliterated the Packers’ rookie record for receptions by a tight end (Franks, 34).

Meanwhile, third-round pick Tucker Kraft became the forgotten member of the Packers’ early-round pass-catching trio because he started the year slowly.

Kraft caught the first two passes of his career in the team's 34-20 loss to Detroit on Sept. 28. He wouldn't catch another pass for nearly two months.

The injury to Musgrave thrust Kraft into a much larger role, and he’s shown the ability to get open and make plays with the ball in his hands.

“That was my whole college career,” Kraft said. “It is what I could do with the ball after I caught it. That’s what got me here to the NFL.”

Kraft is averaging 7.6 yards after the catch, which is No. 1 among all tight ends with 20-plus targets, according to PFF.

The skill-sets of Musgrave and Kraft complement each other well. If LaFleur can figure out how to get the two players in positions to succeed once they're healthy, this combination could be lethal.

Romeo Doubs

This is probably a surprising ranking since Doubs leads the team with seven touchdown receptions.

Doubs is a useful player who does a lot of things well. He just does not possess the dynamic ability of his counterparts.

What he lacks in dynamic ability, he makes up for in reliability. Doubs' presence has been announced in the red zone, where he’s scored a team-high five of his touchdowns.

Doubs came into the season as the odds-on favorite to be the team's best receiver.

He's falling behind other receivers on the depth chart, and likely should cede snaps to Wicks when Watson returns from a hamstring injury.

There is a place for Doubs on an NFL roster. If this Packers' receiving corps was compared to the 2011 crew that graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, Doubs would be James Jones.

For a Packers team that has struggled with inconsistency, that reliability certainly has a place on their roster.

Malik Heath

Malik Heath was probably the Packers' best player in the preseason. He caught so much of the coaches' eye, that he got a loving nickname from Matt LaFleur.

Goon.

Heath's big preseason did not translate early in the year. He bounced between active and inactive, before making a splash against Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.

Eleven snaps. Four catches.

It was a big day for Heath, who has made at least one splash play per game since that day.

The biggest was what could have been a game-winning touchdown against the Giants.

The defense didn't hold up its end of the bargain, but Heath looks like a solid role player that could be relied on in bigger spots.

He has a lot more to prove but has at least earned himself more snaps with a strong three-week stretch.

13 Potential Replacements for Barry