The Green Bay Packers’ master plan for rebuilding the wide receiver room in the post-Davante Adams era was always a bit of a long shot, especially in the short term, but unrelenting injuries made sure the plan never really got off the ground.
All five of the Packers’ top receivers entering the 2022 season have dealt with at least one injury.
The explosive and speedy second-round pick got hurt. And then got hurt again. And hurt again.
The reliable returning veterans got hurt.
The injury-prone veteran addition got hurt.
And to cap it all off, the ascending fourth-round pick got hurt.
It’s certainly possible Brian Gutekunst’s plan was doomed from the start. In an effort to replace the best receiver in football (Adams) and one of the best deep threats in football (Marquez Valdes-Scantling), the Packers signed veteran Sammy Watkins and drafted Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure. Expecting a fading veteran with an injury history longer than a CVS receipt, two Day 2 picks from small schools and a seventh-round pick to fill in the gaps left behind by Adams and Valdes-Scantling was overly optimistic at best and roster-building malpractice at worst, especially for a team in a contending window with a 38-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback.
But even the best-case scenario never had a chance because no one could stay on the field.
Watson missed most of training camp after having knee surgery, missed regular-season games because of two hamstring injuries and then was knocked out of a game in the first quarter with a concussion. Entering Week 10, Watson had all of 10 catches over 121 snaps played. He exploded over the last two games, catching eight passes and five touchdowns over 103 snaps. Where would this team be with a healthy Christian Watson over 11 games?
Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, the two highly efficient complementary players, have both missed time. Lazard missed games with a foot injury (Week 1) and shoulder injury (Week 8) and has played through pain from both injuries in multiple games. Cobb left Week 6 with an ankle injury and missed four games while on injured reserve. The Packers desperately needed both Lazard and Cobb to be the anchors of the receiver room, but the pair has played only a handful of games with both players completely healthy.
Watkins was a ticking time bomb that predictably blew up in Week 2. He missed four games with a hamstring injury and has struggled in the handful of games since his return. He’s averaging 15.8 yards per catch and 9.8 yards per target, but the injuries have taken their toll. He doesn’t run well anymore and has been mostly schemed open this year.
Doubs avoided injuries for nine games but a high ankle sprain suffered at the end of an 18-yard catch to open the game in Detroit has meant missing 99 percent of the last three weeks.
In Buffalo, the Packers had a big package of plays ready for Watson. He got injured on the first drive. The same could be said for Doubs in Detroit a week later.
Per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Watson and Doubs have played all of 52 snaps on the field together this season. There’s no way that was part of the team’s plan entering the year. The Packers needed both rookies to eventually play big roles in the passing game in 2022, but injuries have drastically impacted the transition for both first-year players.
The rest of the depth chart wasn’t able to provide any answers.
Amari Rodgers couldn’t hack it as a returner and failed to develop enough at wide receiver to make a difference despite all the injuries. He was released 10 games into his second season. Toure has played more in recent weeks and caught a touchdown pass on a smart improvisational play in Buffalo, but he hasn’t been targeted over the last two weeks. Juwann Winfree was used as a practice squad elevation early on but hasn’t been signed to the roster after the team burned through his three elevations, even when depth was a major concern some weeks.
The Packers needed everything to go right at wide receiver for this hazardous plan to work. Lazard and Cobb had to stay on the field and be the reliable, consistent vets in the passing game. Watkins had to stay healthy to revive his career as a starter. Watson and Doubs had to produce in spots while they developed as rookies with Aaron Rodgers. It just hasn’t happened.
Of course, Rodgers’ thumb injury and the constant changes along the offensive line due to the unpredictable nature of the surgically-repaired knees of David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins have only added to the issues.
Injuries are an easy excuse for a team’s failures in a given year, but it would be impossible to look at this Packers team – and how it was constructed on offense to start 2022 – and not credit injuries with at least a big chunk of the disappointing performances that have defined the season.
Maybe this wide receiver group never had a chance to be good this year, but injuries made damn sure of it.
