Analyze any chart of wide receiver separation, and you will see that rookie Dontayvion Wicks is the best Green Bay Packers receiver at getting open. The fifth-round pick has been a revelation for the Packers young offense, and his role may get bigger and more important as the team faces another hamstring issue for Christian Watson.

It's difficult to put up great numbers without volume, but efficiency stats paint a clear picture of how Wicks has taken advantage of his limited snaps. Among Packers wide receivers, he is first in PFF receiving grade (73.0), first in yards per route run (1.98), and second in passer rating when targeted (107.8).

Receiving grades:

Dontayvion Wicks 73.0
Romeo Doubs 71.1
Christian Watson 70.6
Jayden Reed 70.5
Samori Toure 64.0
Malik Heath 60.8
Bo Melton 59.7

Yards per route run:

Dontayvion Wicks 1.98
Malik Heath 1.79
Jayden Reed 1.70
Christian Watson 1.56
Romeo Doubs 1.35
Samori Toure 0.98

Passer rating when targeted

Jayden Reed 114.1
Dontayvion Wicks 107.8
Romeo Doubs 99.8
Christian Watson 71.4
Malik Heath 67.4
Samori Toure 25.6

"When my name is called and I step in, I have that confidence to make plays," Wicks said earlier this season. "We do it in practice, so having that confidence in your preparation in practice and trusting that only helps me out on game day."

Dontayvion Wicks had a bigger role earlier in the season, when Watson was out. In the first four games of this year, the rookie averaged 36.75 offensive snaps per game. Since then, it went down to 21.71. It's a natural decline, but his opportunities will get more pronounced again. And he seems ready for it.

"He's a guy that we've got to continue to try to get more opportunities for in our offense because he's shown the ability," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur stressed. "He's physical, he's smart, he's a really good route-runner, he's got really strong hands and he's fearless."

So far this season, Dontayvion Wicks has 202 snaps out wide, and 84 in the slot. He's been targeted 36 times, with 23 receptions for 374 yards and a touchdown, scored against the Atlanta Falcons in week 2. Wicks has had two games of four receptions (versus New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams), and the Packers won in both instances. In terms of yardage, his best game was also a Packers win, against the Los Angeles Chargers.

What is special about Wicks

Former NFL receiver Marques Hagans was Dontayvion Wicks college WR coach at Virginia. During the offseason, he talked to A to Z Sports about what the young player does well and what he needs to improve on.

"He is tough, he plays fast and aggressive," Hagans said. "He's tough to bring down after the catch and he's so explosive. Great hands and good change of direction. He needs to play faster at the line of scrimmage and get back to being arrogant with his hands."

On Monday night, the opportunity is appealing. The New York Giants defense is 26th in DVOA and 15th in dropback EPA.

Romeo Doubs is more of a contested catch type of receiver, and Jayden Reed is primarily a slot option. With Christian Watson limited or out, Dontayvion Wicks' performance will be imperative for Jordan Love as the best outside option to get open — and a productive weapon with safe hands.

The Packers need Dontayvion Wicks more than you would expect of a regular fifth-round pick. But from what the receiver has shown in his first NFL season, Wicks is far from a usual day 3 draft selection.

Packers rookie Dontayvion Wicks has beautiful plans for the future

It’s easy to absolutely fall in love with what Wicks told reporters earlier in the week.