There are a few positions where the Green Bay Packers could benefit from a veteran free-agent addition, but perhaps nowhere more than at wide receiver.
As of now, the Packers have only five receivers on the roster, and Romeo Doubs is the most experienced of the bunch, with 529 career snaps. Doubs, Christian Watson, Samori Toure, and Bo Melton were all rookies in 2022. Jeff Cotton, meanwhile, was a 2020 undrafted rookie with one offensive snap in his NFL career.
When meeting with reporters on Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meetings, coach Matt LaFleur discussed the need for not only more bodies in the receiver room but specifically adding a veteran presence.
“I think some veteran leadership would be nice,” said LaFleur. “Although I think guys like Allen (Lazard) and Randall (Cobb) did such a great job last year taking those guys (Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs) under their wing and showing them the ropes, and expectations, the practice habits that you need to have to go out there to play at a high level.
“But yeah, we’re going to have to add some bodies to that room certainly,” LaFleur added.
Watson looks like a true No. 1 target in the making, while Doubs had a promising first season. However, neither is immune to the ups and downs that second-year players can still have. The hope with signing a veteran is that they would provide some added reliability at the position for Jordan Love in his first season as a starter. There is something to be said for having that experience on the practice field and in the film and locker rooms as well.
Unfortunately, for the Packers, there are limitations in free agency because of their salary cap situation, as Brian Gutekunst said on Monday. Although the Packers have cap space on paper – over $22 million – they lack spending power, with that figure set to be cut almost in half due to the dead cap from trading Aaron Rodgers, not to mention needing space for other expenses, such as the draft class and final two roster spots, hitting the 2023 books.
Gutekunst has shown that he will continue to churn the roster well into the summer. So even though a veteran addition in free agency may be on the to-do list, that doesn’t mean a signing is imminent, either.
With the Packers being limited in what they can spend, expectations shouldn’t be that they are going to bring in a game-changer at the position. Rather, this will be a veteran who can complement Watson and Doubs as a third option and likely on a one-year deal with a minimal cap hit. There are only five receivers who remain unsigned from PFF’s top 200 free agents list that are projected to earn less than $5 million in 2023. Those players are Jarvis Landry, Julio Jones, Olamide Zaccheaus, Marvin Jones, and Randall Cobb.
Another option could be acquiring a receiver from the New York Jets in the Rodgers trade. Corey Davis is a popular name, but he comes with an inherited cap hit of $10.5 million. Green Bay would either have to extend him or Davis would have to be willing to take a pay cut for his contract to fit. Denzel Mims is another alternative, and he comes with a reasonable cap hit of $1.35 million since he’s in the last year of his rookie deal. Mims has been targeted just 43 times combined over the last two seasons.
Whether the Packers add a veteran or not at wide receiver really should have zero impact on how they go about the draft at this position. For one, this is a position group that could still use more playmaking, and the veteran addition would add some stability. Also, any free agent signing is likely going to be in Green Bay on a short-term deal, leaving long-term depth at the position still a big need to fill.
A few receivers in this year’s draft class who meet the Packers’ typical height, weight, and athleticism thresholds include Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State), Bryce Ford-Wheaton (West Virginia), Andrei Iosivas (Princeton), Matt Landers (Arkansas), Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss), Rashee Rice (SMU), Cedric Tillman (Tennessee), and Michael Wilson (Stanford).
