The Green Bay Packers have a great deal of work to do in the offseason in order for them to take the next step towards Super Bowl contention.
Their 22-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles highlighted what many fans believed to be true about the team: the defense is good enough to contend, but the offense is not.
Quarterback Jordan Love was limited by injuries all season long, but his reckless turnovers in the Wild Card round were nonetheless disappointing.
Of course, it was not all Love’s fault. The fact of the matter is that the Packers’ wide receiver room simply was not as good as they thought it would be.
The Green Bay Packers Wide Receivers Disappointed in 2024
While he gets a great deal of criticism from fans, wide receiver Christian Watson was one of the Packers’ more reliable targets in the passing game. He only had one drop all season while posting 29 receptions for 620 yards (a career-high) and two touchdowns.
However, he was not really used as anything more than a boundary wide receiver and was just 53 times, the fifth-most on the team.
Dontayvion Wicks led the team in targets with 76, but had only a 51.3% catch percentage to go with his nine drops. Jayden Reed was second on the team with 75 targets, and while he had a 73.3% catch percentage, he also had nine drops.
Romeo Doubs was third on the Packers roster with 72 targets and had a 63.9% completion percentage, but also had seven drops.
NFL Analyst Predicts the Green Bay Packers Will Trade Romeo Doubs for DK Metcalf
Due to Green Bay’s wide receivers struggling as a unit in 2024, many believe the team needs to go out and get a bonified top-tier pass catcher this offseason.
Nick Solak of ESPN believes that the Packers should trade Doubs, who was suspended by the Packers early in the season for conduct detrimental to the team, to the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf, who may not be too thrilled about his own role on that roster:
“While I love the versatility of the Packers’ wide receiver room (when it is healthy), they could use a clear WR1 who can take over games with consistent eight-plus-target outings. Expect them to be in the Tee Higgins hunt, but if getting him gets too expensive for them, they could package someone like Romeo Doubs — who will be in the final year of his rookie deal in 2025 — to grab a frustrated star from another team. Garrett Wilson? DK Metcalf? I’d bet on the latter.”
Last season, Metcalf posted 66 receptions for 992 yards and five touchdowns. The thing is, though, that he did that while being targeted 108 times, which is 32 times more than any Packers wide receiver last year.
The fact of the matter is that if Green Bay goes out and gets a player like Metcalf, head coach Matt LaFleur has to change his offensive gameplan to match their production capabilities.
Sure, people will point to the fact that teams like the Kansas City Chiefs have won Super Bowls without a number one wide receiver.
And while that is true, it is not like they do not have a top-tier pass catcher. Tight end Travis Kelce was targeted 133 times in 2024, more than Watson and Wicks combined.
In other words, while adding a talent like Metcalf would be helpful, it will only have its desired effect if LaFleur (and Love) adapt.
