Packers’ offseason gamble at wide receiver pays off as Jordan Love’s top targets climb into elite company
Green Bay let Romeo Doubs walk and traded Dontayvion Wicks in the spring, and the decision to concentrate targets has revamped the offense.
The Green Bay Packers made a curious bet at wide receiver this offseason, and the results couldn’t have been better so far. Romeo Doubs hit free agency and signed with the New England Patriots, then Green Bay traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The logic behind both moves was the same. The Packers wanted to spread the ball around less, and give quarterback Jordan Love more practice and playing time with his top receivers. More targets would naturally flow toward those players.
The plan drew questions early. In Week 2, Jayden Reed suffered a season-ending neck injury, and depth at the position suddenly became a concern. Savion Williams’ rise has helped solve part of that problem. But Love’s connection with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden has, by itself, made that sequence of decisions look great for Green Bay.
A statement game against the Patriots
Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots was the best example yet. Both receivers executed and played at a high level. Watson finished with seven receptions for 171 yards and one touchdown. Golden added 10 receptions for 164 yards and one score.
That performance wasn’t an outlier, though. Throughout the season, both players have been exactly what the Packers wanted, and they’ve put themselves in the discussion for the best wide receiver duo in football. The Cincinnati Bengals have Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but Watson and Golden have played as well as anyone in the NFL.
Through nine weeks, Christian Watson has had 49 receptions, 879 yards, and seven touchdowns. Matthew Golden has produced 53 receptions, 783 yards, and five touchdowns in his second season.
Jordan Love has benefited just as much. He has completed 63% of his passes for 2,618 yards, 19 touchdown passes, and six interceptions, good for a 97.9 passer rating. He’s on pace for 4,945 passing yards. The quarterback pointed directly to the offseason work as the foundation for what Green Bay is doing through the air.
“That’s something we’ve been building on,” Love said after Sunday’s game. “Christian and I have been together for a while now, and MG is going into his second year. Those guys have had more opportunities to settle in and get as many reps as possible throughout OTAs and training camp, and we’ve made the most of that.”
Room to grow even more in the passing game
The Packers’ plan was to give Watson and Golden more opportunities, and both have taken full advantage. The passing game may need to carry even more weight down the stretch. Green Bay hasn’t had much success running the football, so the connection between Love and his two top receivers has to keep improving.
Love made it clear he believes there’s another level for this group, and the first game without a sequence of drops was a clear indication of that potential.
“We have to keep building because there’s still more out there for us,” Love added. “I’ve talked about this before, but the connection we’ve developed and the plays we’ve been making downfield really came together [on Sunday]. It was the culmination of all the work we’ve put in. There’s still room to improve, but these guys keep making play after play, which makes it easy for me to keep going to them.”
Investment validated
The Packers couldn’t be more satisfied with their decision to invest in these two players. Watson received a long-term extension, and Golden was a first-round pick for Green Bay a year ago.
The commitment went beyond money and draft capital, though. The Packers also leaned on Watson and Golden by clearing a path for them to see more targets, and that required letting productive receivers go elsewhere. That approach could easily have backfired, especially after Reed’s injury thinned the room so early in the season.
Instead, the results have validated Green Bay’s plan at wide receiver. With Love on pace for nearly 5,000 yards and both receivers producing at an elite rate, the Packers have the kind of passing attack that can carry them through the second half of the season. And into a potentially bright long-term future.
