There are currently eight wide receivers on the Green Bay Packers, 10 when Jayden Reed and Grant DuBose sign their rookie deals. With no veteran presence in sight for this position group, a few second-year players will need to step up and assume that role.

23.2 is the average age of the WR room in Green Bay, with Jeff Cotton being the oldest (26) and DuBose and Dontavyion Wicks being the youngest at 21 years old. Having all of these players close to the same age track as Jordan Love is great for fully resetting the Green Bay receiver room, but it also presents plenty of concerns about keeping this room on track and focused.

Leading Candidates for Green Bay

The onus falls on the shoulders of two players entering their second year in Green Bay, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. Two players that had big roles in their freshman years and who project to make big impacts in Year 2 will need to make impacts off the field too.

Dating back to the days of Brett Favre, there was always a veteran presence in the WR room – Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, and Randall Cobb, just to name a few. For Jordan Love, there is no veteran that he can rely on for guidance, which makes it extremely important that Watson and Doubs step up.

Expecting a day one swift in leadership for the offense is unrealistic, but Love cannot do it all on his own. While he did learn from Rodgers about certain leadership aspects (what to do and what not to do), Love will need to figure the offense out in a very different way, and having his WRs along for the ride will be crucial.

Buy-in from both Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst is imperative for the wide receivers as well, and so far, LaFleur said he has seen good signs from both of his top wideouts as they enter their second seasons.

“It’s fun to watch the jump a lot of these guys make from year one to year two in terms of how they mature as men.”

While it is far too early to tell what shortcomings the WR room will have for Green Bay this year, but with players like Watson and Doubs looking to step into leadership roles early on in their professional careers, this team will be in good hands.

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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23

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