Ready or Not, Packers Might Have to Roll With Wicks

Dontayvion Wicks missed a big chunk of training camp due to injuries but he might have to play vs. the Bears given the Packers’ predicament at receiver.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers receiver Dontayvion Wicks missed five practices at the start of training camp due to a concussion. He missed most of the final two preseason games due to a hamstring injury.

That’s not the ideal way for any rookie to get ready for Week 1. But, ready or not, that’s the predicament for Wicks, who returned to practice on Wednesday after a 2 1/2-week absence, and the Packers, who might face the Chicago Bears on Sunday without their only proven receivers, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.

“Yeah, that’s always a concern,” coach Matt LaFleur said of where Wicks is mentally, “because I know on the board, he does a great job. When you’re talking to him, he does a great job. But it’s obviously about taking that knowledge and applying it to a real-life situation when there’s other variables. The defense could be presenting a different look and you want to see how they respond in those situations.

“But he’s a guy that’s very intelligent, he works his tail off, he always has a ton of questions. So, we’ve got complete confidence that he’ll be able to go out there and execute.”

Wicks, a fifth-round pick out of Virginia, caught three passes for a team-high 68 yards in the preseason opener at Cincinnati. A catch-and-run gain of 47 yards set up a touchdown just before halftime. But he suffered a hamstring injury early the following week against New England and was out of action until Wednesday, when he was limited participation.

In a perfect world, Wicks would maybe get a couple weeks of live reps at practice and perhaps a smattering of snaps in a game to get him ready for a larger role. But, as it stands, the only receivers on the 53-man roster who are healthy and ready to go are second-year player Samori Toure, second-round rookie Jayden Reed and undrafted rookie Malik Heath.

Dontayvion Wicks (Photo by Mark Hoffman/USA Today Sports Images)

So, Wicks might have to play a large role in the offense even though he was glued to the sideline for a big chunk of camp, with mental reps replacing physical reps.

“It’s all about preparation,” Wicks said. “Just seeing what the guys that are out there are doing, learning from them. If they make a mistake, learn from that mistake by watching, and taking a lot of notes. It’s always about watching film on my own, taking the time to do stuff on my own that we don’t do here. I think that helped me out a lot.

“But going out and being confident, I know what I can do, I know I can help the team a lot. So, it's just going out, playing confident, playing fast, and trusting in my preparation.”

The 6-foot-1 Wicks, who at the Scouting Combine ran his 40 in just 4.62 seconds but had an impressive 39-inch vertical jump, was a polarizing prospect. In 2021, he was a stud with 57 receptions for 1,203 yards (21.1 average) and nine touchdowns. In 2022, he was a dud with 30 receptions for 430 yards (14.3 average) and two touchdowns. Based on drop percentage, no drafted receiver had worse hands.

When he did practice during training camp, Wicks showed instant-contributor potential. He routinely got open and caught the football, making him look at lot more like the 2022 Preseason All-American than the 2022 disappointment. But the injuries and resulting lack of preseason action make him a bit of an unknown in a receiver corps that is overflowing with unknown.

“It was difficult because I know what it is, the situation I’m in,” Wicks said. “it was ‘eat or nothing.’ You’ve got to be out there. The best ability is availability, like Coach always says. Being available is the best thing to happen, so you can go out there and put on film what you want to put out there.”

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