Since the Green Bay Packers 2025 season ended in January, various rumors have been circulating that the team could look to trade one of their veteran wide receivers in order to address another area of need on the roster. The two players who have been most frequently mentioned were Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed. But if the Packers had to trade one of them, which should they move?
Both Reed and Wicks were selected by the Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft. Reed went in the second round with the 50th overall pick. GM Brian Gutekunst added Wicks three rounds later with the 159th selection.
Both Wicks and Reed are now entering the final season of their rookie contracts. Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft are also set to be unrestricted free agents next offseason and are likely to be higher priorities than either of the aforementioned receivers. The Packers are unlikely to give both Reed and Wicks a second contract with the team and it’s possible neither player is here beyond 2026.
But all things being equal, which player would be better to keep, and which player would it make more sense to trade? Obviously, one factor will be which player would give the team a better return in a trade whether it be a better player or a higher draft pick. But if that were roughly equal, who should thee team keep?
Both have different skill sets that they bring to the table and different shortcomings that need to be addressed.
Reed has certainly been the more productive of the two players. The former Michigan State star actually led the Packers in catches in both 2023 and 2024 despite playing just 56 percent of the team’s offensive snaps as a rookie and 63 percent in 2024.
Reed operates primarily out of the slot where he can be most effective off the snap of the ball. Head coach Matt LaFleur also frequently utilized Reed on gadget plays like jet sweeps, end arounds, and bubble screens. He sometimes lined up in the backfield to make it tougher for defenders to pick him up off the snap of the ball. That allowed him to operate in space and made him more dangerous after he got the ball.
Reed suffered through an injury-plagued 2025 season that saw him play only seven games. He returned to action late in the season, so he should be ready to go when training camp gets under way in July.
Wicks proved less consistent than Reed but may have a higher upside. The Virginia alum has never caught more than 39 passes in a season, which he did in both 2023 and 2024. He has also been further down on the depth chart, starting a total of just 18 games over three years, often because of injuries to the players starting in front of him.
But the advanced analytics say that Wicks has great ability to get open when running his routes. He just hasn’t always been consistent and had issues with drops in 2024 but improved in that area last season. His overall inconsistency has been a reason he has not become a preferred starter so far in three years in Green Bay.
Wicks provides more of a deep threat than Reed, but Reed runs better after the catch. Wicks lines up primarily on the boundary, Reed in the slot.
As of now, many scouts feel Wicks may have a higher ceiling than Reed, but Reed has a higher floor and is more consistent.
The answer may ultimately come down to who the Packers would get a better return for. They can afford to trade either one of these players if they can fortify a position of need but obviously wouldn’t trade both.
The fact remains the Packers could keep both players to start the 2026 season and if they’re comfortable with the progress of Golden and Williams, could wait until the NFL trade deadline to move one. Gutekunst has his options. He could also try to negotiate an extension with both and see which one makes more sense for the team and then trade the other. We’ll see what Gutekunst decides to do and what offers he gets for both players.