With the first preseason game just a few days away, many players on the Packers roster will be fighting for their football lives. Saturday night could be the first of three chances in a real game situation, or it could be the only shot they get. In a wide receiver's room, very crowded with talent, some on the outside looking in could just be hoping to secure a spot on the practice squad. Does that mean others who are more than likely locked into a spot on the roster can just sit back and watch the show? Of course not. They may not see the field as much in the preseason, but that's what makes the practice field that much more important. That's where the bar needs to be set for every receiver.
It's been an argument for the last few seasons. That the Packers don't have that defined "WR1," they don't have that true leader of the pack. To be honest, it's a tired point to make. A player doesn't need to be that high and above the rest to be a leader. They just need to have the ability to set the standard of what each receiver should strive to achieve.
That player is Jayden Reed.
In just two seasons, Reed has shown the ability to be a threat everywhere on the field. He can be a playmaker in short yardage, and he can also be a deep threat. If you must use the "WR1" label, he's probably the closest the Packers currently have, as he's led the team in receiving in each of the last two seasons.
But Reed's production in Training Camp hasn't been what it could be. Of course, it's worth noting that he's been held back a little bit, sidelined with some minor injuries, but even when on the field, he hasn't been the Jayden Reed we've come to expect. He's shown a few flashes, especially in a few recent 2-minute drills when he made a couple of catches setting up a Brandon McManus field goal, and a few red-zone catches here and there, but outside of that, as of the time this article is being written, his presence in camp has been spotty.
This isn't to say that we should be worried about Jayden Reed this season, but that as the arguable top receiver on this roster, we need to see Reed lead by example.
Leading by Example
We all know the tale that before the drafting of Matthew Golden, that the Green Bay Packers hadn't drafted a wide receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002. Before that draft, in 2001, the Packers also drafted WR Robert Ferguson in the second round. Both of these receivers went on to have success in a Packers uniform before their eventual departure. When both Walker and Ferguson were just getting started in Green Bay, they had a veteran receiver that was only in the league a few years longer than them that took over as a WR1 for the Packers and began to lead by example. That was Donald Driver. Driver set the bar in the Packers receivers room and despite him not being a breakout receiver at that point in his career, he became that standard for those two young high-drafted receivers to set themselves to.
Leaving 2002 and heading back to the Packers in 2025, we see Matthew Golden drafted in the first round and Savion Williams drafted in the third. Two very talented young receivers, much like Javon Walker and Robert Ferguson were, that need someone to take the helm in front of them just like Donald Driver did 23 years ago.
Looking at current training camp news, you see Matthew Golden flashing how polished he already looks as a rookie receiver. How he makes adjustments to the ball like a veteran and many are already marking him for a big season. You see how Savion Williams looks like he's going to be a big playmaker in the Packers offense as early as this year. This is all great and promising excitement, but the new young guys can't be setting the bar. A veteran leader is needed to set that bar for the young receivers so they don't get complacent. Donald Driver holds his own bar in the history of the Green Bay Packers, and Jayden Reed doesn't need to be Donald Driver, he just needs to perform in the ways that he is capable of to show Golden and Williams how it's done.
Throughout the history of the Packers in the last 20 years, it's been a tradition that rookies are not handed starting jobs, they need to earn them. The job of the top wide receiver on the Green Bay Packers is currently held by Jayden Reed. No, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams aren't going to be handed more reps than Jayden Reed this season by what they do on the practice field, but Jayden Reed needs to show them why that is. It can't just be because they're rookies. Every day from practice to game day, Reed needs to show them that if they want to be the top receiver on the roster, they have to go through him.
Young players don't just develop off of sheer talent alone. They develop by learning from great leadership. It's time for Jayden Reed to set that standard in the receiver's room.