Like most NFL teams, the Green Bay Packers tweak their roster every chance they get to find hidden gems that can improve their team.
However, Brian Gutekunst and Co. must be shopping hungry because the team won’t stop adding wide receivers.
After recently adding Sam Brown Jr. to the 90-lad roster, Green Bay now has 13 wide receivers in the mix — more than 10% of the roster!
🧀 Upated Packers WR depth going into the summer
Christian Watson
Jayden Reed
Matthew Golden
Mecole Hardman
Romeo Doubs
Dontayvion Wicks
Savion Williams
Bo Melton
Malik Heath
Tom Grossi
Cornelius Johnson
*Sam Brown Jr
Julian Hicks
Jadon Janke
*Signed today
— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) May 29, 2025
Even with Christian Watson most likely starting the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, the Packers will cut more than half of these guys before Week 1. The Packers lacked consistency from their wide receiver group in 2024, so it makes sense to look for new talent there.
But after drafting Matthew Golden and Savion Williams early, on top of their returning guys, the offense can only feed so many mouths. If the team is only going to keep six or seven receivers at most, could the Packers make some more surprising moves? Entering the final year of his rookie contract, people have floated Romeo Doubs as a potential trade target before the season. Does it make sense for the Packers to try to move their most experienced wideout?
At first glance, it doesn’t make much sense. Doubs is one of the more consistent receivers on the team. He’s also arguably Love’s go-to guy when it matters, and Matt LaFleur says Doubs has taken a big step forward as a leader.
While Doubs wasn’t flawless with drops, teammates Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks had the league’s highest drop rates. Doubs has missed some time and had some concussion history, but he’s played in more games than draftmate Christian Watson. He’s the touchdown leader among all wide receivers from the 2022 draft class, with 16.
He led the team in targets in 2023 (96) while placing a close third in 2024 (72 to Wicks’ 76 and Reed’s 75). All things considered, the offense is better when Doubs is getting targets. So why would the team move on?
After having the youngest receiving corps in the NFL the past two seasons, the Packers have some important decisions to make. While Reed and Wicks are in Year 3 of their initial deals, Doubs and Watson are in the final year of their contracts. It’s unlikely Green Bay will pay both, and it’s not impossible that both will be gone after this season.
But even though LaFleur says Watson is ahead of schedule on his recovery, he will still miss some time this season. Any decision regarding Watson’s future won’t be made until they see how he looks post-return.
Of those four primary returning receivers, Doubs would be the only one the Packers might consider moving before the season. If he’s not part of the plan beyond 2025, getting capital for him before then could make sense.
There were rumors pre-free agency that the Packers were in the market for D.K. Metcalf; a Green Bay receiver (most likely Doubs) could have been part of the package, but this is unconfirmed and obviously didn’t happen. Teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers are still in the market for receivers and could be an appealing partner, although Peter Schrager says this is unlikely and that Matt LaFleur is happy with his current receiver room. Any talk about Doubs as a trade target is purely theoretical at this point.
Also from @PSchrags, the Green Bay Packers are unlikely to trade Romeo Doubs to the Steelers.
Peter was speaking about how he had dinner with Coach LaFleur at the draft, and said that coach is very happy with the current wide receiver room.
(Video via the @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/TKdj0ROG9t
— SleeperPackers (@SleeperPackers) May 8, 2025
As of early June, I don’t think it makes much sense to actively look for a trade partner. There are still too many questions the Packers must answer, and it’s dangerous to expect two rookies to look like immediate game changers.
Still, if Golden hits the ground running and Wicks and Reed fix their catching issues, the Packers might feel more confident about their room and could consider a move. Even then, injuries are part of life in the NFL, and getting rid of your most reliable guy is a tough ask.
If Doubs were to be a potential trade target, it should be closer to the trade deadline. By then, you’ll see how Golden and Williams adapt to the NFL, if Reed and Wicks can take a step forward, and perhaps even see how Watson looks post-return. If the offense is chugging along and there are too many mouths to feed, it’s worth looking for some capital.
In a vacuum, it doesn’t make sense to move on from one of Jordan Love‘s favorite and most reliable targets. But a preemptive move has merit, considering Doubs is on the last year of his rookie contract and might not get an extention, the fact that Green Bay just invested heavily at the position in the draft, and that there are only so many targets to go around (we haven’t even discussed the tight ends).
Personally, I think I’d wait to see how the season goes before making a move. However, if the team makes a move this summer, we’ll get a better idea of how it views its receiving group.