Coming towards the end of the 2024 NFL season it was thought that while the Packers had some receivers coming close to the end of their rookie deals, that they likely would not take one in the 2025 NFL draft until maybe late day three or if someone unexpectedly drops and this years class wasn’t seen as a great class either as far as the top talent. Once Christian Watson tore his ACL on January 6th in a non contact situation. This changed the math for the Packers since it meant that Watson would miss the vast majority of the 2025 season. This leaves the Packers lacking in play makers at wide receiver.
The Packers Current Receivers
They have Jayden Reed who had a little bit of the sophomore slump that tends to happen in Green Bay. Reed though is a slot receiver who you also move around and use him occasionally as a gadget type player. Romeo Doubs is a solid possession type receiver who can occasionally come up with some big catches or big games, but isn’t a consistent threat.
They also have Dontayvion Wicks who is a master route runner and has an expansive route release package, but had a major case of the dropsies in 2024. While he is quick, physical and plays faster than his timed speed (4.6) he lacks the top end speed of a big play threat. They also have Malik Heath, but he is similar to former Packer Allen Lazard, physical and a good blocker he doesn’t offer much else. Bo Melton has the speed that Christian Watson has (4.34 at the combine), but he is still more of a slot and gadget receiver and that is probably all he is going to be.
Where Does This Leave Us?
According to Matt Lafleur, he views his receiving corps like a basketball team. He wants players with different skill sets who each bring something different to the team. There will of course always be some overlap in skill sets, but he wants them each to have at least something different from the others.
Some people have brought up free agency, but the best free agent wide receiver is Tee Higgins from the Bengals. The problem with that is he is not a #1 receiver or a big play threat. Higgins is like a better version of Allen Lazard. The money he is going to command/ask for does not make sense for the Packers or fit what they need.
Where Do The Packers Look to?
Well obviously the only and best choice is the draft. There may not be a lot of #1 type receiver options, but there are some intriguing ones, guys with speed who can be big play threats. As most Packers fans know, they like the Senior Bowl. Gutekunst also seems to like Senior Bowl wide receivers. Guys currently on the roster or drafted by Gutekunst that attended the Senior Bowl include Christian Watson, J’Mon Moore, Romeo Doubs, Equanimeous St. Brown, Grant DuBose, Bo Melton, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.
Besides that there are other things these players had in common. Romeo Doubs and J’Mon Moore both had multiple 1,000 yard seasons and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks each had at least one. All scored well on the Relative Athletic Score testing as well, outside of Doubs who was coming off a injury/illness. Watson, Melton and St. Brown are the only guys without 1,000 and they were freaky athletes. Even Dubose was pretty close with a 8.79
So what we can piece together is they like production and freaky athletic testers. What a lot of these guys also have in common is size. All are at least 5’11 with the lightest being Reed who is listed at 187 by the Packers but has been quoted at being over 190 once he came to the NFL. Another thing they have in common is length, outside of Reed (30 1/2″) who is a slot receiver they all have at least 31 7/8″ arms. With Reed and Melton being able to play the slot the Packers are pretty much set there, so we can eliminate anyone with sub 31″ arms.
Receivers That Fit
Now lets look at the list of receivers that attended the Senior Bowl:
- Isaac TeSlaa, Arkansas
- Jamaal Pritchett, South Alabama
- Jack Bech, TCU
- Chimere Dike, Florida
- Tai Felton, Maryland
- Arian Smith, Georgia
- Kobe Hudson, Central Florida
- Jalen Royals, Utah State
- Pat Bryant II, Illinois
- Da’Quan Felton, Virginia Tech
- Xavier Restrepo, Miami
- Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
- Kyle Williams, Washington State
- Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
- Jaylin Lane, Virginia Tech
- Tez Johnson, Oregon
We can automatically eliminate the guys that fall outside of their size thresholds. Jamaal Pritchett, Arian Smith, Xavier Restrepo, Kyle Williams, Tez Johnson, Jaylin Noel and Jaylin Lane.
This leaves us with:
- Isaac TeSlaa, Arkansas
- Jack Bech, TCU
- Chimere Dike, Florida
- Tai Felton, Maryland
- Kobe Hudson, Central Florida
- Jalen Royals, Utah State
- Pat Bryant II, Illinois
- Da’Quan Felton, Virginia Tech
- Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Now lets take away guys with sub 31″ arms. Tai Felton (30 3/8″) and Kobe Hudson (30 5/8″) are under.
Now we are left with:
- Isaac TeSlaa, Arkansas
- Jack Bech, TCU
- Chimere Dike, Florida
- Jalen Royals, Utah State
- Pat Bryant II, Illinois
- Da’Quan Felton, Virginia Tech
- Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Outside of late day three picks they like guys who have produced. This removes Isaac TeSlaa, Chimere Dike and Da’Quan Felton. This doesn’t remove them completely, but the Packers would only be interested as late day three or UDFA type pick ups.
This leaves us with:
- Jack Bech, TCU
- Jalen Royals, Utah State
- Pat Bryant II, Illinois
- Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Jack Bech is not expected to test exceptionally well, and part of his breakout this past season was him just being a power slot receiver. He is expected to run in the mid 4.5’s, which does not help the Packers. That leaves us with three guys left:
- Jalen Royals, Utah State
- Pat Bryant II, Illinois
- Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
So, expect the Packers to take one of these receivers sometime on day two if they are going to take one. If you are interested you can also check my final wide receiver rankings for the 2025 draft as well.
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