The Green Bay Packers will go into the 2023 NFL draft with 10 draft picks, but it’s a different kind of year in Green Bay. After winning 13 games during three straight regular seasons, the Packers finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs in 2022, and now a transition is beginning at the game’s most important position.
Instead of gearing up for another run at the Super Bowl, the Packers are likely entering a rebuild phase. And the 2023 draft is an important piece of the early rebuilding puzzle.
Packers Wire’s position-by-position draft preview continues at wide receiver:
On the roster
Christian Watson: 23 years old, signed through 2025
Romeo Doubs: 23 years old, signed through 2025
Samori Toure: 25 years old, signed through 2025
Bo Melton: 23 years old, signed through 2023
Jeff Cotton: 26 years old, signed through 2023
Watson, Doubs, Toure and Melton were all 2022 draft picks. The Packers snagged Melton off the Seahawks’ practice squad last year. Cotton, a 2020 undrafted free agent, arrived on the practice squad last November. Of the five, only Watson, Doubs and Toure have caught a pass in a regular-season game.
Short-term need
High. If the season started today, the Packers would have a strong case for possessing the worst collection of wide receivers in football. Watson has legitimate star power, and Doubs flashed before and after his ankle injury, but the Packers have nothing but question marks behind the pair. This roster probably needs a veteran addition and 2-3 draft picks to fortify an important position around a first-year starting quarterback. Losing Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard over the last two offseasons robbed the Packers’ wide receiver depth chart of talent, experience and depth.
Long-term need
High. Having four 2022 draft picks on the roster helps the long-term outlook, but three of the four were Day 3 picks, and neither Toure nor Melton is likely to ascend into anything more than a No. 3 or No. 4 receiver (at best). Also, the Packers don’t have a true slot receiver on the roster. Long-term, the Packers need to build this position around Watson and hope Doubs comes along as a capable sidekick. To maximize his potential, Jordan Love needs more weapons to grow alongside.
Chances of drafting the position
Nearly guaranteed. If nothing else, the Packers need more bodies at receiver. There are five on the roster, and the Packers usually take nine or more to training camp. Not all the additions will arrive via the draft, but several should. Expect the Packers to take a receiver at some point during Days 1-2 and another 1-2 on Day 3. Green Bay needs an immediate contributor to pair with Watson and Doubs and more long-term depth and stability.
Depth of the draft class
Decent. Dane Brugler of The Athletic lists 38 wide receivers with a draftable grade, including 16 with at least a borderline third-round grade. While possibly short on first-round options, the Packers should have good wide receivers available throughout the rest of the draft. Then again, the team has several size and athleticism guardrails that could shrink the pool, and this class is on the smaller side (15 of Brugler’s top 25 are under 200 pounds). The Packers like big receivers, so it’s possible they’ll have to bend a bit on tendencies.
Potential options, last WR drafted
Some potential WR options:
— Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
— Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
— Rashee Rice, SMU
— Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss
— Trey Palmer, Nebraska
— A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
— Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia
— Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State
— Parker Washington, Penn State
— Grant DuBose, Charlotte
— Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia
— Matt Landers, Arkansas
Last WR drafted: Samori Toure, seventh round, 2022
