Who Will Emerge From A Crowded Wide Receiver Room?

This is the second story in a series examining Green Bay’s positional groups. Part 1 was on the quarterbacks.

When the Green Bay Packers took the field in 1995, it marked the first time in seven seasons they did so without the great Sterling Sharpe.

The previous season, Sharpe accounted for 25.1% of the Packers’ receptions, 28.1% of their receiving yards and 55.6% of their touchdown receptions. Sharpe suffered a neck injury, though, late in the 1994 season and never played again.

Without Sharpe, Green Bay went to training camp in 1995 with a bevy of questions at wide receiver. Much to the Packers’ delight, though, Robert Brooks emerged as a star, several other players filled the void Sharpe left behind, and by the time the 1996 season ended, Green Bay was Super Bowl champions.

Fast forward to 2022 and these Packers have more questions at wide receiver than any Green Bay team since that 1995 squad. Whether they can find the same type of positive answers will determine just how far this team will go.

“I like production over potential,” Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said last month. “We have some production. We have a lot of potential, so we need to temper expectations and heighten the accountability. I think that’s the most important thing for those guys.”

Green Bay’s room is in flux after it traded away Davante Adams — arguably the best receiver in football — in March. While the Packers picked up a first- and second-round pick in the swap, losing Adams’ production will be nearly impossible to replace — at least in 2022.

Amazingly, Adams was even more productive the last few years than Sharpe was in his prime.

In 2021, Adams accounted for 30.6% of the Packers’ receptions, 34.3% of their receiving yards and 28.2% of the receiving touchdowns. And over the last four seasons, Adams averaged 108 catches, 1,328 yards and 12 touchdowns per season.

“It’s never easy moving on from a player and person the caliber of Davante Adams,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said after trading Adams. “He is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the storied history of the Packers.”

Green Bay doesn’t appear to have a player like Brooks — who was a rising star entering his fourth season back in 1995 — on its current roster. In fact, Pro Football Focus recently ranked the Packers’ wide receiver group as No. 31 in football, ahead of only Chicago.

Green Bay’s wideouts believe there’s enough talent for the passing offense to remain among the league’s elite. Exactly who emerges from this group, though, is the biggest question the 2022 Packers face.

Rodgers called Allen Lazard his No. 1 receiver last month. But considering Lazard has never had more than 40 receptions in a season makes that proclamation a bit dicey.

Veterans Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb are coming off years in which they both finished with career-lows in most categories. Second-year man Amari Rodgers had a dreadful rookie season, while fourth-year player Juwann Winfree is hoping to finally make his mark.

Then there’s a trio of rookies — second rounder Christian Watson, fourth rounder Romeo Doubs and seventh rounder Samori Toure — that all hope to break through.

“Yeah, I mean, every year is exciting, the challenge that comes along with it,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Certainly when you lose a couple guys that contributed quite a bit to our offense, that brings some other challenges.”

Watson is undoubtedly the Packers’ wideout with the most upside. Whether he can become a difference maker in his first year remains to be seen.

The Packers traded a pair of second round picks — No. 53 and 59 — for pick No. 34. Green Bay then selected Watson, a physically gifted, but green-as-grass wideout from North Dakota State.

The 6-foot-5, 208-pound Watson ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.32 seconds, giving him the size-speed ratio scouts go crazy for. Watson also possesses an enormous catch radius, huge hands (10 1/8”) and outstanding ball skills.

“Like everything obviously, he’s got really good tape, his athletic traits are off the chart,” Gutekunst said of Watson. “The more we got to know him as a person, we just felt really good about him.”

Although Watson faced lesser competition at an FCS school, he was never a dominant player. In 52 career games with the Bison, Watson had 105 total receptions and that included two years playing with 49ers quarterback Trey Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft.

Recent history also says it could be hard for Watson to make his mark as rookie.

The Packers’ five best receivers this century have been Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Cobb and Adams. In their rookie seasons, that quintet averaged 28.8 receptions, 410 yards and 2.0 touchdowns.

“It definitely is a hard balance, just being able to go out there and still play fast, even though you’re thinking a lot more,” Watson said this offseason. “You’ve got to know what you’re doing before you can do anything. It’s definitely a process.”

As Watson develops, players like Lazard, Watkins and Cobb will be leaned on heavily.

Lazard was second behind Adams with eight touchdown receptions last year. And during his first three years in Green Bay, he’s caught a respectable 68.6% of passes in which he was targeted.

Lazard has always been the second or third option in the passing game, though. What happens when he becomes Green Bay’s top target?

“Excited about Allen Lazard,” Aaron Rodgers said. “He’s been our dirty work guy for most of his career here. Now he’s getting an opportunity to be a No. 1 receiver, so I’m not worried about him at all stepping into that role. I know he’ll be ready.”

Watkins was the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft and was taken 49 spots ahead of Adams. But Watkins never lived up to the hype and Green Bay is now his fifth NFL stop.

Last season, Watkins set career-lows in catches (27), yards (394) and touchdowns (one) in Baltimore. Watkins, 29, thought his career could be over, but the Packers threw him a life jacket and he hopes to make the most of it.

“I think I told the coaches, ‘My back is against the wall,’ ” Watkins said. “My career hasn’t been what I projected it to be, and it’s a great opportunity for me to come here, play hard, catch a ton of balls, compete at the highest level and win games and fight to stay healthy.”

Cobb missed five games with a core muscle injury last season. That marked the sixth straight year Cobb hasn’t played a full season.

Cobb finished the 2021 campaign with his fewest number of receptions (28) and yards (375) since his rookie year in 2011. Cobb will be a Packer Hall of Famer one day, but he’ll also turn 32 before the year starts, and it remains to be seen just how much he has left.

“I don’t care what anybody’s got to say,” said Cobb, one of the league’s top slot receivers during his prime. “I’m going to go out and do what I’m supposed to do and have fun doing it, put a smile on my face and try to win some games.”

If Cobb falters, second-year man Amari Rodgers could be ready to take over in the slot. Rodgers played just 103 snaps last season (9.2%), caught only four passes and looked slow and sluggish during his limited opportunities.

Rodgers lost eight pounds and lowered his body fat by 4% this offseason, though. Now, after hearing the word ‘bust’ throughout his rookie season, the former third round pick is hoping to write a new story.

“This offseason, I locked in on getting my body right,” Amari Rodgers said. “I lost it all in my torso. I feel like I’m getting in that area where I was in college as far as where I want to be, to move the way I want to and play receiver the way I should.”

Winfree could be a darkhorse to earn playing time. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder caught eight passes a year ago, but also had a pair of fumbles that hurt his stock.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Doubs has ideal size and ran the 40-yard dash in a respectable 4.53 seconds coming out of Nevada. And while Toure was taken in Round 7, he has 4.44 speed and was highly productive at both Montana and Nebraska.

“I think, obviously we’ve got a lot of new faces in there, so settled probably isn’t the word I would use,” Gutekunst said of his wideouts. “We’ll kind of see how it goes. I do really like the group.”

Whether he feels the same way in January will likely determine how Green Bay’s season went.