Packers Training Camp Preview: Receiver

In Part 3 of a series of Green Bay Packers training camp positional previews, it's a look at the team’s incredibly young receivers.

Christian Watson after a touchdown at Philadelphia (Photo by Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports Images)

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The oldest receiver on the Green Bay Packers’ roster is Jeff Cotton. He has zero career receptions. Only three receivers on the roster have caught a pass in a regular-season game. Those players have a combined 88 receptions; all three NFC North teams have a receiver with more receptions in a single season.

So, yes, the Packers’ receiver corps is young and unproven. Led by Christian Watson, it’s also brimming with potential. The group’s ability to turn potential into production will determine whether the Packers with Jordan Love are ready to rebound after missing the playoffs with Aaron Rodgers.

In Part 3 of our training camp previews, here is a look at Green Bay’s receivers.

Projected Opening Depth Chart

Starters: Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed (slot).

Backups: Dontayvion Wicks, Duece Watts, Malik Heath, Jeff Cotton, Grant DuBose, Jadakis Bonds. Slots: Samori Toure, Bo Melton.

Related Story: Projecting 2023 Training Camp Depth Charts

Position Group Ranking (out of 11)

Sixth.

Strength

The strength is in the numbers. After ignoring the position for far too long because of the dominating presence of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, the Packers have invested heavily.

Including Bo Melton, who was acquired late last season, the Packers have seven drafted receivers on the roster. That includes Christian Watson, a second-round pick last year who came on like a dynamo during the second half of the season, Romeo Doubs, a fourth-round pick last year who flashed at times, and Jayden Reed, a second-round pick this year.

Between the seven draft picks and perhaps lucking into an undrafted gem, the Packers should be able to find at least three or four reliable players. Right?

Weakness

The weakness is in the proven numbers. No receiver corps is as young as Green Bay’s. From a pure numbers perspective, no receiver corps is less productive than Green Bay’s.

Watson had three 100-yard games as a rookie. He was dominant at times. However, those 100-yard games were also his only 50-yard games. Doubs had some productive early-season outings but was among the worst in the league in breaking tackles, drops and contested catches.

Watson and Doubs might be the next great one-two punch. But they’ve got to prove it.

“Seeing their growth last year to this year, it’s night and day, and they’ve been through the ups and downs,” receivers coach Jason Vrable said at the start of OTAs. “They had to play early. Some buildings, you draft a guy maybe in the second round, there might be three vets, four vets in front of them. They might only get to play like 10 plays a game, maybe not at all. But they’ve been through the fire. I think they’ve learned from it. They’ve adapted. They’re competitive and they’ve bought into the tradition of the room.”

Moreover, when Rodgers stepped into the starting lineup, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings were established pros. Rodgers always had a veteran No. 1 receiver, with the torch going from Driver to Jennings to Jordy Nelson to Adams. To expect Watson and Doubs to lead the group as second-year receivers seems short-sighted for the here and now but perhaps a worthwhile gamble for a team that’s trying to build on the fly.

Key Questions

1. Can a receiver corps that’s overflowing with youth turn potential into production?

2. Is Watson the Packers’ next great second-round receiver? More on that in a moment.

3. Who will be the slot receiver? More on that in a moment, as well.

4. Can rookies Wicks (fifth round) and DuBose (seventh round) contribute? Wicks missed a big chunk of the offseason practices and DuBose didn’t take a single rep due to injuries. They will enter training camp well behind their peers because they missed so much time.

“I think anytime you’re talking about a young player that hasn’t been able to participate in practices, yeah, those are valuable reps,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We talked about it the other day after practice, just how meaningful these reps are for these young players, especially when you’re learning something new. It’s one thing to sit there and learn it in the meeting rooms, on the board, watching the tape, but it’s another thing to go out there and do it. So, I think you do naturally fall behind.”

Biggest Battle

Toure vs. Reed in the slot. This is a bit of a simplification. Last season, Allen Lazard led the team in slot receptions even though he doesn’t have the traditional skill-set. In 2021, Adams had almost as many slot receptions as everyone else on the roster combined. Based on matchups, Watson and Doubs will get their opportunities inside, too.

Nonetheless, when the Packers line up with three receivers and Watson and Doubs are on the perimeter, who will be in the slot? Will it be Toure, the second-year pro who added several pounds of muscle this offseason to get ready for a golden opportunity?

“I remind him every single day,” trainer Aaron Woods told Packer Central. “I think that he already knows that he has the ability to do that and he kind of has an opportunity to slide into that starting position. But it’s more, ‘No, this is an opportunity and go take it. Don’t wait for it. Don’t just slide into it. Go out there, work your butt off and go snatch that.’”

Or will it be Reed, the former Michigan State star who got a bunch of first-team reps throughout the offseason? With his quickness and run-after-catch ability, he’s exactly what you’re looking for in that role.

“He got a little ‘uh-uh’ to him, you know what I’m saying?” slot defender Keisean Nixon said. “He can move around a little bit. I like it. I think he got something to him.”

Star Search

Nobody on the roster has more potential to dominate than Watson. It was one play at one minicamp practice, so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. But there was Watson, lined up one-on-one against Jaire Alexander on the left side of the formation, blowing past the two-time All-Pro cornerback and catching a deep strike from Love.

Watson is too tall to be stopped. He’s too fast to contain. He’s too talented to be held in check for too long. Comparing him to the legendary Hall of Famer Randy Moss sounds blasphemous. Moss was one of the great big-play receivers in NFL history. After Moss caught a league-leading 17 touchdowns as a rookie in 1998, then-Packers general manager Ron Wolf selected three cornerbacks in the first three rounds of the 1999 draft in response.

But the potential to dominate is there. He showed it by scoring three touchdowns in his breakout performance against Dallas. He showed it by blowing past the Eagles for a touchdown catch and the Bears for a touchdown run. He showed it vs. Alexander.

With Jennings, Nelson, Randall Cobb and Adams, Green Bay has made a killing with its second-round receivers. Could Watson be the next? Could Watson be better than all of them? Hands and health will be key factors.

Don’t Forget About

Doubs. It seems kind of silly to say “don’t forget about” a sure-fire starter, but there’s such a focus on Watson’s upside and the potential of the rookies that the steady and understated Doubs sort of floats under the radar.

Doubs and Love share the same personal coach, Steve Calhoun, so there’s some built-in rapport that was evident throughout the offseason. Doubs caught more passes than anyone else during the three OTAs and two minicamp practices that were open to reporters. It’s probably a decent bet that Doubs will lead the team in receptions during the season.

“I think it’s easy when you got a really good player,” Love said during OTAs. “They just kind of make it happen. It’s easy to get them the ball. He’s catching it – Romeo’s catching it really well right now. He’s running really good routes and he’s getting open, so it’s easy to throw it to open guys. He’s been doing a really good job and we’ve had that connection. We’ve done a lot of stuff last year so just continuing that connection has been great. He’s doing a great job.”

The key for Doubs won’t be just catching the ball – he dropped too many last season – but making something happen once he does catch the ball. Of his 42 catches, his longest gain went for only 26 yards. Of the 68 receivers with at least 40 catches in 2022, he ranked 56th with 10.1 yards per catch and 63rd with 6.3 yards per target.

Green Bay Packers Training Camp Previews

From @JacobWestendorf, here are five reasons to believe that the Jordan Love era will be long and successful for the #Packers.https://t.co/kmRkdblSI5

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 12, 2023

And in a companion piece from @JacobWestendorf, here are five reasons why the Jordan Love era won't be much of an era at all for the #Packers.https://t.co/qfwjfOqUHp

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 12, 2023

Position preview: Aaron Jones and the running backs

Position preview: Jordan Love and the quarterbacks

Projected depth charts

Big question at kicker

Big question at cornerback

Big question at safety

Big question at inside linebacker

Big question at outside linebacker

Big question at defensive line

Big question at offensive line

Big question at tight end

Big question at receiver

Big question at running back

Big question at quarterback