The Green Bay Packers wide receiving corps is the youngest and one of the most intriguing groups in the NFL. This is partly because of players like 2023 fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks and former Seattle Seahawks 7th-round pick Bo Melton making splash plays last season. While both Melton and Wicks showed they could be contributors to the Packers’ offense, they don’t even make it to the top three on the depth chart. Those spots belong to Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed. However, Watson, Doubs, and Reed didn’t share the field much in 2023 due to injuries. The hope for 2024 is that these guys stay fairly healthy and form a dangerous trio. If that comes to fruition, it will be a competition for who the Packers’ best wide receiver will be in 2024.
Who Will Be the Packers’ Best Wide Receiver in 2024?
1. Jayden Reed
Last season, Reed and quarterback Jordan Love developed quite the connection because of Reed’s reliable hands. Reed caught 68% (64/94) of his passes for 793 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, which led the Packers. He also emerged as a nice downfield threat for Love, recording eight games with catches of 20+ yards. Reed’s combination of speed and hands should help him continue to break out for the Packers.
2. Christian Watson
After trading Devante Adams during the 2022 offseason the Packers selected two wide receivers in the 2022 draft. North Dakota State product Christian Watson was the first of these selections for the Packers. Watson entered the NFL with a good blend of speed, height (6′ 4″), and decent route-running abilities.
Those attributes allowed Watson to put together a rookie season where he caught 62.1% (41/66) of his passes for 611 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 14 games. Although Watson’s stats ended up being lower than many expected, with Aaron Rodgers as the quarterback, he still put together a nice rookie season. This left fans optimistic about Watson going into his second season.
Sadly, Watson missed about half the season last year, eight games, due to a hamstring injury. In the nine games Watson played in 2023, he caught 52.8%(28/53) of his passes for 422 yards and five touchdowns. Watson’s catch rate was way down from his rookie season due to Love’s inconsistent accuracy. However, Watson still ended up with over half the yards and almost the same number of touchdowns as a rookie. This shows if Watson had been healthier, he would have ended 2023 with better stats than he did in his freshmen campaign.
3. Romeo Doubs
The Packers drafted Romeo Doubs with the 132nd pick in the 2022 draft. Doubs had just produced back-to-back 100o-yard seasons at Nevada with the combination of his height (6′ 2′). speed and deep route running ability. However, these skills didn’t translate directly into the NFL for Doubs.
As a rookie, Doubs caught 62.6% (42/67) of his passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns. Although Doubs caught the ball at a decent rate, he struggled to get yards after the catch, which was one of his weaknesses entering the draft. Doubs’ failure to separate and get yards after catch as a rookie led to just one catch over 25 yards. Entering his Doubs needed to improve a lot to stay a viable deep-threat option for the Packers.
Last year, Doubs put together a more complete season, catching 61.4% (59/96) of his passes for 674 yards and eight touchdowns. He also showed improvement downfield by gathering three 30+ yard catches. While a few more of those catches are ideal for a deep threat, having three is a good starting point. If Doubs can increase explosive plays this season then he could lock down the Packers’ deep threat spot going forward.
Best 2024 Packers wide receiver prediction: Christian Watson
If Christian Watson can stay healthy during the 2024 season, he should easily be the team’s leading receiver. Looking at what Watson did in the limited snaps he had last season with Love, there is no reason why he shouldn’t surpass 1,000 yards with a full season.
Main Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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