How Can Packers Replace Davante Adams?

By trading Davante Adams, the Green Bay Packers went from having the best receiver in the NFL to perhaps the worst receiver corps in the league.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ receiver corps, never an overwhelming strength even with indomitable Davante Adams, now ranks among the weakest in the NFL following the shocking trade of Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night.

Somehow, general manager Brian Gutekunst must assemble a championship-level receiver corps around his championship-caliber quarterback.

Green Bay’s top three under contract are Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers. Cobb and Rodgers are slot receivers, so help is needed on the perimeter. It is slim pickings on the free-agent market, though. It was not strong to begin with and has been picked over during the opening week of free agency.

Arguably the best free agent at the start of the week, longtime Bears standout Allen Robinson, joined the loaded Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. D.J. Chark (to Detroit), Christian Kirk (to Jacksonville), Michael Gallup (staying in Dallas) and Cedrick Wilson (to Miami) are off the board.

One league source pointed to former Falcons and Titans star Julio Jones as a player to watch. The 33-year-old was released by Tennessee this week. Jones spent the 2011 through 2020 seasons with the Falcons, his time overlapping Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s two-year tenure as quarterbacks coach. Having played in a similar offense last season, there would be a quick learning curve.

While no longer a premier player, he commands attention from defenses. However, he played in only 19 games the past two seasons. Acquired from Atlanta for a second-round pick in June, Jones caught 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown in 10 games; it only seemed like he had that many receiving yards against Green Bay in the 2016 NFC Championship Game.

“Waste of money. He’ll be hurt,” one executive countered.

Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry got one league source’s vote as the best fit. A second-round pick in 2014, he had more than 80 receptions in each of his first six seasons, including a league-leading 112 grabs in 2017. He caught 72 passes in 2020 and 52 in 12 games in 2021. He’s not a big-play artist but he gets open, catches the ball and moves the chains.

Odell Beckham, who suffered a torn ACL in the Rams’ Super Bowl win, is the most talented receiver on the market but the state of his 2022 season is obviously in limbo. Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster looked like a young star a few years ago, but he’s more of a slot. And Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay’s top threat, remains unsigned.

Where the real talent lies is the upcoming draft. The Packers reportedly received the Raiders’ first- and second-round picks, meaning Green Bay owns Nos. 22 and 28 of the first round and Nos. 53 and 59 of the second round. The draft is loaded with talent, meaning the Packers could wait and get a talented prospect or be aggressive and go get their man.

Penn State’s Jahan Dotson, who doubles as a punt returner, Ohio State’s Chris Olave, a speedster with advanced route-running skill, and Alabama’s Jameson Williams, a premier prospect who suffered a torn ACL in January, are first-round options. Arkansas’ Treylon Burks, a top player without top testing numbers, also could be an option.

The obvious game plan, as one executive pointed out, is to sign a veteran receiver and to draft one in the first round. The presence of the veteran would buy time for the rookie to get on the same page with Rodgers. That’s been a notoriously difficult process at times, as even Rodgers might admit, but he’s also never been given a blue-chip prospect, either.

Don’t discount the tight end position, whether it’s re-signing Robert Tonyan or tapping into a better-than-usual draft class. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who’s catching the football so long as someone is catching the football and making plays.

“Get one of each” in the opening rounds was one executive’s solution. He liked the rookie options at receiver much better than free agency.