Who Will Be Packers’ Breakout Player?

There are a lot of good options for breakout player, starting with the team’s superb 2023 NFL Draft class, but this receiver could have a huge season for the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The question for a Sports Illustrated NFL training camp roundtable: Who will be the Green Bay Packers’ breakout player in 2024?

With the youngest roster in the NFL last season also being one of the best, there are plenty of good options.

The obvious starting point is the 2023 NFL Draft class. As coaches like to say, the biggest jump a player should make is between Year 1 and Year 2. The player, rather than training for the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine, gets to spend the offseason training for football. He knows the system. He’s comfortable facing NFL competition.

Green Bay’s Class of 2023 looks strong.

First-round pick Lukas Van Ness played his best football at the end of the season, including beating future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Tyron Smith for a sack in the playoff win at the Cowboys.

Second-round tight end Luke Musgrave tied Bubba Franks’ franchise rookie record for most catches by a tight end even while missing six games with an injured spleen.

Second-round receiver Jayden Reed smashed Sterling Sharpe’s franchise rookie record for most catches by a receiver. He led the team in receptions, yards and total touchdowns.

Third-round tight end Tucker Kraft was one of the more productive tight ends in the NFL, regardless of experience, after Musgrave’s injury. He led all NFL tight ends in YAC per catch.

Defensive tackles Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, who were taken in the fourth- and sixth rounds, respectively, should be good fits in the new defensive scheme.

Fifth-round receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who caught 39 passes as a rookie, finished fourth in the NFL in percentage of receptions that were explosive gains (16-plus yards).

A case could be made that third-year receiver Christian Watson will be the breakout player now that’s perhaps solved the hamstring issues that limited him during his first two seasons. After a dominating two playoff games against the Cowboys and 49ers, you could also make the case for another third-year receiver, Romeo Doubs.

Maybe former first-round pick Eric Stokes will rekindle his rookie-year form after slumping in 2022 and missing most of 2023 due to injuries.

That’s a lot of good candidates. But one is a better candidate for breakout status than the others.

Reed.

Reed had an exceptional debut season. Rookie receivers are supposed to have growing pains. but Reed was the one who inflicted the punishment on opposing defenses.

“He is a dog. He’s a war daddy,” coach Matt LaFleur said last season.

What’s a war daddy?

“Never heard ‘war daddy,’ either,” Reed said a couple days later. “I was notified of that. It’s got to be something good, so I told him thank you.”

Reed was good – really good – last year.

Among rookie receivers, Reed was sixth with 64 receptions, fifth with 793 receiving yards and second with eight receiving touchdowns. He was fourth with 2.05 yards per route and sixth with a drop rate of 4.5 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.

Among rookie receivers, only the Colts’ Josh Downs had more slot receptions than Reed. While Downs had 51 receptions to Reed’s 44, Reed crushed Downs in yards (653 to 594), yards per catch (14.8 to 11.6) and touchdowns (seven to zero).

Among all receivers, Reed in the slot ranked seventh in receptions, third in yards, second in touchdowns, eighth in passer rating when targeted and 10th in yards per route.

Whether lined up in the slot or on the perimeter, only Tyreek Hill (14), D.J. Mooe (12), George Pickens (11) and DK Metcalf (11) had more 30-yard catches than Reed (10).

No wonder cornerback Jaire Alexander said Reed could be better than Randall Cobb.

There are a lot of good players in the passing game, but Reed is different. If there’s one player who has a shot at 80 catches or 1,000 yards in what should be a diverse attack, it might be Reed because of his suddenness, toughness and hands.

“Just the explosive playmaker he is, he’s the guy that can win inside in the slot position for us and does a lot of really good things,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Obviously, you see what happens when he gets the ball in his hands and the progression he’s made since he got here and then, obviously, now he’s making even more strides. He’s a phenomenal player and I think he’s going to have a bigger role this year.”

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The #Packers signed two receivers yesterday. One of them has a cousin who ranks 10th in NFL history in receptions. ⬇️https://t.co/w85D7oCXfE

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 20, 2024

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