who do have have the most confidence in at WR for 2024?

[red]

watson had a massive sophmore slump last season. he looked like our future #1 but was invisible for most of the year. still has the size and speed to be dominate

doubs, invisible for almost the whole year, then shows up big right at the end to look like the player i thought he would be all year

wicks shows up huge the last quarter or so of the year after barely knowing he was on the team for most of the year. TD machine

bo melton comes out of absolutely nowhere to look like donald driver in his prime by the end of the year. caught nothing but big plays

then theres reed. had probably the most consistent season from start to end. seems like he can make a big play on almost every play, but never really had a "big game" (only went over 100 yards once)

i'm a little worried about all the guys taking the next step, except for maybe reed

it sure is nice to have all that talent though, pretty good chance someone is gonna turn up bim every week

[run pMc]

I have the most confidence in Reed/Wicks, that might be recency bias.

Reed is pretty good. He's like a Jennings/Cobb hybrid.
Wicks was open a lot all year long, it took MLF time to notice.

It also took time for the rookies to pick up the offense, and it took time for Love to throw them the ball on time and with a modicum of accuracy.

Doubs is a very good WR3 or 4. Possession receiver. I think his hands are good but not as great as some say. Not a great athlete by NFL standards which hurts him, but he's a good player and Love trusts him.

Watson is a total wildcard so I have least confidence in him. When he's healthy and playing, he is capital-D Dangerous. Injuries and chemistry with Love sidetracked him most of the year. i really hope he gets his hamstring/knee issues resolved before they become chronic and it robs him of some of that rare athleticism. If he can stay healthy, he's like gasoline - we've seen he can go off for multiple TDs in multiple consecutive games, and some defenses were clearly scared enough to have done things to prevent him from going off against them.

I am very curious to see Melton, Heath and Dubose. Melton was a pleasant surprise, I think he's decent. I wonder if he's a backup for Reed as slot guy or for Watson as speed guy.

Barring a lights-out offseason/TC, Toure is the odd man out.

[Frozen Tundra]

I have the most confidence in Reed/Wicks, that might be recency bias.

Reed is pretty good. He's like a Jennings/Cobb hybrid.
Wicks was open a lot all year long, it took MLF time to notice.

I agree, and I don't think recency bias is a factor. Especially when the more recently we saw them, the better they played, because they were steadily improving all year.

I think Wicks is a lot better than many of us realize right now, because (as you say) he wasn't getting many footballs early on. But the more he started to get, the more he showed not just his hands, but his body control and split-second situational awareness - both of which are remarkable for a rookie; especially for a 5th round pick. How did so many people miss this kid?

I have some hopes for Watson, but this has to be his make or break year. If he spends half of another season on the bench, I think the team will have mostly moved on. Too many other people fighting for his snaps. Like (as you say) Heath and Melton.

[Bretsky]

SERIOUS considerations:

Would you trade Watson for a top tier Safety ?

How would you feel about the Watson for Jonathon Taylor trade that it sounds like we turned down ?

[texaspackerbacker]

It's a great situation to have.

First of all, a big hell no to either of those Bretsky trades.

Receiver by committee is an excellent thing. No team can cover them all, and if somebody gets hurt, we've always got spares. In addition to all five of those mentioned, Heath looked better than a lot of teams' backups, Toure is not nothing, and before the season there seemed to be hope for Dubose. All that and two, maybe 3 or 4 good TEs.

While Watson may still have the biggest upside, I think they use him sparingly to keep him healthy, maybe mostly as a deep threat/decoy. I have a better opinion of Doubs than most people. I see him as at least as good as most teams' #2 WR. Reed and Melton both have about the same skill set, something we really didn't have since Cobb was young, and better than what most teams have of that kind of WR. I guess Wicks would be my choice for most likely to break out of the pack. I see a lot of Davante Adams in him.

Imagine being an opposing DC having to prepare for all that with a mobile QB that can get them the ball and at very least adequate, more likely excellent RB(s) too.

[Frozen Tundra]

SERIOUS considerations:

Would you trade Watson for a top tier Safety ?

How would you feel about the Watson for Jonathon Taylor trade that it sounds like we turned down ?

First question? Yeah, depending on the cap hit.

Secomd - good question. I sure wouldn't have at the time, and probably wouldn't do it now either. I don't know if we need a $14M dollar RB as bady as we do some other things. I think Aaron will see us through 24 just fine, and if we draft a good replacement for him in April, the new player should be able to ease into a solid contributing role in 25.

But you raise a good point, because we all need to start getting used to the fact that by 2025 we're going to be trading WRs. Possibly even as early as 24, in some scenarios. There's no way we're going to be able to pay all these guys market rate going into the 25-26 seasons, so best practice might be to start getting some value from them fairly soon.

[Deputy Nutz]

I think Reed is the guy, lead the team in receptions, receiving TDs, and catch %, and yards per game. Watson still was second on the team with yards per game at 47 which means when he is playing and healthy he is a target who averages 15 yards per reception. Doubs is a solid NFL receiver. I don't know if he is going to ever be a #1 in terms of game plan against, but he has put together 2 solid years considering he was a 4th round draft pick. All of his numbers from year 1 to year 2 have improved.

Wicks had a terrific year considering he was a rookie and a 5th round pick. If he follows Doubs path and improves in year two the Packers are going to have an amazing receiving crew. Throw Bo Melton in there and even Malik Health and these guys will bust their asses just so they get targets on Sunday.

The Packers could also end up having the best TE room in the NFL as well when you look at the production of Kraft and Musgraves. 65 receptions between them for 700 yards and 3 touchdowns. Two rookies putting up those numbers and there simply might not be enough footballs to go around.

Here is the only negative I will say. No receiver besides maybe Reed has had a breakout season yet. Also, youth is a bitch because as soon as you start adding up all the potential based on last year's numbers and you don't count in regression you might find yourself disappointed like a bunch of people were with Adams during his second year. I would say the cupboard is full with young and talented kids, but they are still maturing as professionals.

1. Reed
2. Doubs
3. Watson
4. Musgraves
5. Craft
6. Wicks
7. Melton
8. Health

[sharpe1027]

I really like Reed, but if I had to pick between having Reed or Watson available on game day, I pick Watson. The main reason is we don't have a backup that has the ability to threaten over the top and have Watson's type of impact. Reed is more productive, but I don't think we lose as much when we have to go to a backup for Reed.


In some ways people complaining about Watson being hurt shows how important he is when healthy.

[run pMc]

Jaire and Stokes have missed more games than Watson the last two seasons.

Agree there could very well be a trade, more likely they just let some of them sign elsewhere in FA and get comp picks for it.
Not all of these guys will continue to ascend, or even find levels of consistency.

Would I trade Watson for Taylor? Not with Taylor's contract. Would I trade him for a safety? Depends on the safety, but probably not. Any safety I'd trade him for would be expensive. Maybe Winfield Jr. or Minkah? Don't see it happening.

Watson's still has 2 years left on a reasonable contract and a chance to show something. He's not bad or Royce Newman, he's just had trouble staying on the field. I think if he can put it together this year we're talking about a star player.

[Deputy Nutz]

I am not sure the Packers are in a position to trade any receiver at this point. They have a lot of potential based off the production they have gotten over the past two seasons from some really young ballers. The only thing I could see happen is if the Packers fell in love with a few receivers in the upcoming draft and wanted to draft one or two of them without crowding the receiver room and having to possibly cut guys, then you would trade a Doubs or a Watson. I don't think you are going to get much value for the rest of the guys. The Packers would be fools to trade Reed.

[bobblehead]

I'm going with Watson as the future. He just has rare talents and has shown that they do translate. Health is the only concern and many football players have to figure out how to stay healthy at the NFL level. Most figure it out.

Coming out I said Wicks was a better prospect than Reed and although I have grown to like Reed more, Wicks actually impressed me more as a guy who doesn't need to be schemed open. So I put them similar right now.

Doubs is a number 4?? Holy shit, what a nice problem to have. Honestly what impressed me most about Love is that he took what the D gave him. He didn't force the ball to any of these guys (except Watson in the endzone a couple times late in games).

I don't know who will put up the best stats because I can't guess how defenses will play us, but that is my ranking.

[bobblehead]

I'll also add that I said this offense would run through the TE room for a decade. I stand by that. Love played better when we ran the ball effectively and you need your TEs to be duel threats to truly stress the defense. As Luke and Tucker go, so goes the offense.

[MadtownPacker]

Watson would be the obvious #1 with Rodgers style of play. That was scoring fast, too fast when it wasnt needed in many cases. He never developed a role last season and with the crowded WR he wasnt missed. Becoming the wicked fast sports car that is always in the shop. We tell our buddies that when it gets fixed we are going for a crazy ride. When they ask about it we always say soon. They worry we will invest too much and never get to go full speed.

Love has shown he doesn't need megastar WRs, just some talent and he will make them stars.

Highest confidence level at the moment to catch the game winner or big first down is Doubs for me.

[sharpe1027]

I disagree, Watson was missed. They had good depth, but nobody offered what he brings.

[run pMc]

I have zero confidence in the OL depth, but that's probably another thread.

Point being, IF Jordan Love has ample time to throw the ball, I have growing confidence he can complete it to any of these guys.

[Fritz]

The thread is about whom you have confidence in. Taking it that way, it seems to me that Reed and Wicks are near the top, but at the end of the season, Dobbs really came on as someone who made some tough catches - though he does drop some, still. For me, I'd say Reed. He catches the ball, period. Or so it seems to me.

I have less confidence in Watson, not because I don't think he's good, but because I am not confident he can stay on the field. I hope he figures out the hammy thing. And that his hands keep getting better.

[texaspackerbacker]

If it's just about who you have confidence in, the easy answer is all of the above. The thread title, though, says MOST confidence, and that's tough. I'll say again, Wicks by a small margin over all the rest of them.

[Fritz]

Wicks catches the ball and has a little beast mode to him.