Packer Central

Where Are Packers’ Love-Jacobs-Watson in NFL ‘Triplets’ Rankings?

The Green Bay Packers’ “Triplets” are 15th in Sports Illustrated’s rankings because they don’t have a No. 1 receiver. Does it matter?

Bill Huber

Christian Watson is the Packers' big-play receiver.
Christian Watson is the Packers' big-play receiver. / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls in a span of four years in the 1990s thanks in large part to quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin. “The Triplets” all have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

With OTAs underway around the league, Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame ranked the NFL’s best Triplets – the best combination of quarterback, running  back and receiver/tight end.

Green Bay’s trio of quarterback Jordan Love, running back Josh Jacobs and receiver Christian Watson ranked 15th.

No doubt you’re having the same issue as Verderame:

Who is Green Bay’s No. 1 receiver? When healthy, Watson might be the team’s most dangerous receiver, but is he the best receiver?

“The Packers as an entire offensive unit would rank higher, but they don’t have a clear-cut top receiver,” Verderame said. “Watson is the best choice, although Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed are also contenders. However, Love puts Green Bay in the top half of the league after throwing for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, helping the Packers reach the divisional round.”

The beauty of the Packers’ offense is it doesn’t have a No. 1 receiver, which impacts their standing in these fun but irrelevant rankings. Love can throw to the open man – whoever it is – and get positive results.

In last year’s 17 games, nine individuals led the team in receiving yards at least once, with Doubs pacing the team on four occasions. Nine individuals led the team or were tied for the team lead in receptions at least once, led by Reed with five.

Five different players led the team in receiving yards over the last five games: Tucker Kraft in Week 14 against the Giants, Dontayvion Wicks in Week 15 against the Buccaneers, Doubs in Week 16 against the Panthers, Bo Melton in Week 17 against the Vikings and Reed in Week 18 against the Bears.

The first 100-yard game was recorded in Week 17 by Melton, who spent most of the season on the practice squad. Reed topped 100 yards in Week 18. Doubs had a career-high 151 yards in the playoff win at Dallas.

Because of the diversity, the passing game is night-and-day different than it was at the start of the Matt LaFleur era.

In 2019, 2020 and 2021, Davante Adams caught 321 passes for 3,924 yards and 34 touchdowns as the Packers went 39-10.

Now, the Packers are a rising power behind a passing game that might not have the textbook-definition No. 1 receiver but has the firepower to overwhelm most secondaries.

Does it matter that this offense doesn’t have an Adams, Justin Jefferson or Travis Kelce?

“Our goal is in the end to win a game,” passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said before OTAs. “I would say last year it was random; Bo became the No. 1 in a game. That was just by chance. They were working hard, they were practicing and getting better throughout the week, and then the ball just went their way. We want to win games and want to win a Super Bowl, but I also want them to have great careers and extend their careers for a long time.

“So, for me, I do want them to all become No. 1s. When I say that, it’s you can go out and start, whether it’s here or on your second contract somewhere else. We’re going to be better off if those guys are playing at that level like Romeo in the playoffs. When you have multiple guys on that level, where you can say, he can start and you can win with him, then we’re going to be better off.”

The Packers will kick off the season against Philadelphia. The Eagles are No. 1 in The Triplets rankings behind Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown. The Detroit Lions with Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown are eighth.

More Green Bay Packers News

Packers OTAs: Josh Jacobs on legacy | Eric Stokes healthy, hopeful | Colby Wooden’s new position | Jordan Love’s late-game mistakes | Anders Carlson on competition | ‘Elite’ Rasheed Walker?

Latest news: PFF’s OT rankings | Tom Brady on Jordan Love | Top 10 plays | Bounce-back Alexander? | Fifth-year options | An athletic roster | A complete roster | Help at cornerback? 

Published
Bill Huber

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.