GREEN BAY, Wis. – After the Green Bay Packers’ passing game sputtered last season due in part to their butterfingered receivers, general manager Brian Gutekunst left nothing chance this offseason. His plan was as easy as one, two, three.
One, drafting receiver Matthew Golden in the first round.
Second, signing former second-round pick Mecole Hardman in free agency.
Third, drafting Savion Williams in the third round.
With the Packers having a surplus at receiver and the Pittsburgh Steelers looking to add more firepower for new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, is there a deal to be made?
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin pinpointed five potential targets to help Rodgers and the Steelers. Two are from the Packers.
One is Watson himself. Watson ranked second in the NFL in yards per catch last season but suffered a torn ACL in the regular-season finale against the Bears. He seems to be ahead of schedule in his comeback, as evidenced by him sprinting up and down the sideline at practice this week.
“With both Matthew Golden and Savion Williams in line for significant roles as rookies,” Benjamin wrote, “might the Packers be willing to sell Watson as he recovers from an ACL tear? Rodgers might have to wait until later in 2025 to reunite with the speedster as a result, but the potential for late-season fireworks might make the gamble worthwhile.”
The problem is it’s hard to believe any team would trade for a player coming off a significant injury. While Watson seems to be ahead of schedule, there’s no guarantee there won’t be a setback along the way. A trade-deadline deal could make sense – Watson’s career highs of 41 receptions and seven touchdowns came with Rodgers as a rookie – but certainly not now.
The other Packers player mentioned is Romeo Doubs. While Doubs hasn’t had many big games – his only 100-yard game came in the playoff win at Dallas – or a big season, he ranks sixth in receptions, sixth in yards and tied for first in touchdowns among receivers drafted in 2022.
“Doubs was a teammate of Rodgers as a rookie in 2022, and he'd make for a reasonably well-rounded complement to DK Metcalf in Pittsburgh, provided the Packers are willing to part with him as a proven secondary outlet,” Benjamin wrote.
There’s little doubt Doubs would be a solid complement to Metcalf, but it’s hard to say how much trade interest there would be in a receiver who was suspended for one game and suffered two concussions. The Steelers did inquire about Doubs’ availability, according to one report.
Watson’s injury complicates matters here, too. If the Packers were to trade Doubs, they’d enter the season with Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Golden and Williams, and some combination of Malik Heath, Bo Melton and Hardman as their receivers.
If Golden and Williams are ready for primetime, the Packers would be fine and the rookies could grow on the fly. However, that would be a significant gamble for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Are Reed and Wicks – who had the third-highest and second-highest drop percentages in the NFL, respectively, last season – good enough to lead the receiver group until the rookies are ready to be major contributors?
“It does not change me at all,” Doubs said recently of the additions of Golden and Williams. “If anything, with me going into Year 4 in the system, I think the ultimate responsibility on my end is to be able to guide them and just get them to play as fast as they possibly can and just to keep continuing to give them info within this offensive system that we have.”
Bleacher Report also suggested a Doubs-to-Pittsburgh trade.
“Rather than further reduce Doubs' already slim number of looks … before allowing him to hit free agency when his rookie deal expires after the season, the team should be proactive and deal him to a team in need of receiving weapons,” B/R wrote.
Doubs and Watson are entering their final seasons under contract. There’s typically not a lot of trade value for one-year rentals who are good-but-not-great players.
“My goal going into this year is to be a winner,” Doubs said. ‘Obviously, to be a player within this offense and ultimately to help out two receivers that are here learning the system.”