It’s somewhat comical to consider how different position groups are perceived on social media. For quarterbacks, the perception is usually about them posting and praising teammates. For running backs, it’s about the grind and being a warrior. Then there are receivers, the ultimate group for cryptic posting, using borderline haikus to voice their displeasure indirectly or directly.
The Packers are getting a taste of that with their own receivers this offseason, and it’s only building up. Who remembers what running back Josh Jacobs said this offseason about Green Bay’s wide receiver core per 97.3 The Game?
We’ve got a really young group of receivers. All can be really, really, really special, but I think personally we need a guy that’s proven to be a No. 1 already, somebody that we know is going to be a little bit more consistent.
Sounds fine, right? Jacobs praised the current group while shedding light on Green Bay’s need to get a bona fide star in the room.
The way people responded, you would’ve thought he was showering dirt on the graves of the team’s current wide receivers. Jayden Reed tweeted about bashing your own players and quickly deleted it. Dontayvion Wicks also chimed in and kept his post up.
Reed and Wicks were focal points of Green Bay’s passing game last year. Neither stepped up and delivered quite to expectations, and both finished tied for third-most drops in the league with nine apiece.
Romeo Doubs was suspended for a game for conduct detrimental to the team after skipping two practices without saying a peep to anyone because he was upset with his role. That really began all the drama that would soon unravel.
Jacobs’ comments echoed those of many Packers fans. Still, it wasn’t a knock on Doubs, Reed, Wicks, or Christian Watson. As it goes with the wide receiver position, feelings can be easily hurt.
At the draft, Green Bay selected wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first round and TCU wide receiver Savion Williams in the third. Most would think it’s great to add competition to the room. Those selections made a ton of sense, especially given that Watson is set to miss a large portion of the 2025 season.
On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had to meet with Reed’s agent to confirm that the draft picks don’t affect Reed’s status on the team as the top receiver.
What are we doing here? How necessary is that meeting to coddle the wide receiver? Gutekunst’s hands are tied a bit.
There was a clear need to upgrade at wide receiver, and the backlash isn’t coming from the fans, the coaching staff, or one of the wide receivers who might be having an ego trip.
Packers fans love Reed, and rightfully so. He led the team in receptions and yards each of his first two years, but the numbers certainly don’t scream that Green Bay has an alpha, No. 1 wide receiver.
Reed had 55 receptions and 857 yards in 2024. In the final five games of the season, he produced zero touchdowns on 11 catches for 164 yards.
Reed wasn’t the core of the problem; the entire passing game diminished down the stretch. Naturally, that led the Packers to explore bulking things up via the draft, and now that’s not sitting well with everyone in the room.
After the passing game took off in the second half of the 2023 season and Jordan Love put on an aerial display that would make the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh blush, the Packers wisely held back on adding a wide receiver to the mix entering 2024.
Gutekunst and the rest of the front office banked on one of the core four — Doubs, Reed, Watson, or Wicks — emerging as the go-to guy in the passing game. It never happened. Thus, Gutekunst had to pivot.
Reed’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, essentially demanding clarification on Reed’s standing is unneeded drama after an offseason where a simple comment made by Jacobs already ruffled feathers.
The reality of Green Bay’s wide receiver room is that Doubs and Watson are entering contract years this season, and Reed and Wicks are set to do the same next year. It’s doubtful the Packers will dish out extensions to all four. So, based on last year’s performances and the harsh reality of all four likely not being around for the long haul, the Packers took action now.
If that hurts egos, so be it.
For a franchise that doesn’t typically deal with a lot of drama, Green Bay’s wide receivers sure are putting on quite a production.