The Packers are very optimistic about their young wide receivers. The narrative has certainly flipped from, “the Packers need to use a first round pick on a wide receiver” to “the Packers have multiple WR1s on the roster”. Green Bay’s top four wide receivers are locked in. The next four wide receivers is where things get interesting. Bo Melton, Malik Heath, Samori Toure, and Grant DuBose will compete for the final one, two, or maybe three roster spots.
Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks are the four that the Packers passing attack will revolve around. It is safe to assume that Bo Melton, barring a very poor training camp and preseason, is destined to make the 53. These five wide receivers showed a lot of flash in 2023.
The Packers top 5 wide receivers each had a game or two where they played extremely well. Reed and Doubs were the most consistent performers. Watson had a dominate stretch against Detroit and Kansas City. Wicks scored two touchdowns and tallied 61 yards in a “win and get in” game in Week 18 against Chicago. While, Melton went tor 105 yards and a score against Minnesota in Week 17. Wicks and Melton both scored in the playoffs as well.
The Borderline Wide Receivers Must Bring Value to the Roster
Matt LaFleur requires his wide receivers to block in the run game. When called upon last year, Malik Heath answered the call. There is a play on the first offensive drive against the Lions in Detroit that to most is not very memorable. Heath drove Lions CB Amik Robertson 5 yards and into the ground on a 4 yard first down carry for AJ Dillon. That is the kind of play that will win a wide receiver a roster spot.
DuBose and Toure are on the outside looking in. Unless Toure has a spectacular camp, the Packers have seen enough. Toure did not capitalize on his opportunities last year. LaFleur preferred to play Heath and Melton over Toure. DuBose is still a question mark. He battled an injury early which prevented him from seeing the field. He is a second year player who the Packers have boasted about. DuBose will have longer leash than Toure but he will need to capitalize on his opportunities in the preseason games. The path to the final roster for these two wide receivers is special teams. If they can provide value on there, they could find their way to the roster.
Expect the Packers to keep six wide receivers. The final six will be Watson, Doubs, Reed, Wicks, Melton, and Heath. There is a shot Green Bay chooses to keep seven. However, anticipate the Packers to keep three running backs and four tight ends so keeping a seventh wide receiver is unlikely. That should be enough fire power for Jordan Love. The buzz is loud around this wide receiver group. It is time for these six players to become a dominate group.
