Packers 2024 Preview: Wide Receivers

The transition to the a 4-3 defense may mean fewer pass-catchers on Green Bay’s 2024 roster.

In the third installment of our positional preview series, let’s take a look at receivers: a unit where as much is known as is unknown. The key characters in the group are familiar, as Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayen Reed and Dontayvion Wicks all return in the four-man rotation that caught on fire in the second half of the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 season.

What is unknown, though, is which player will take the next step in their game. Who will be Green Bay’s number-one receiver? Your guess is as good as anyone’s, as these receivers’ production seems to be pretty comparable when they’re healthy. On top of that, the Packers’ coaching staff appears to enjoy that opposing defenses can’t key on one true number-one receiver in the offense, leading to different players having different breakout games on a week-to-week basis.

Good luck, fantasy football managers!

As a reminder, below is our two-week publishing schedule for this series:

• May 13th: Quarterbacks
• May 14th: Running Backs
• May 15th: Receivers
• May 16th: Tight Ends
• May 17th: Offensive Linemen
• May 19th: Defensive Tackles
• May 19th: Defensive Ends
• May 20th: Linebackers
• May 21st: Cornerbacks
• May 22nd: Safeties
• May 23rd: Specialists

Christian Watson

Let’s start this conversation off by talking about the elephant in the room: third-year receiver Christian Watson. When the Packers traded two second-round picks for Watson back in 2022, following the trade of star receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, the assumption was that Watson was going to be Green Bay’s number-one receiver eventually.

As of this point, that hasn’t manifested itself, yet. Part of that is due to injuries, which led to the speedy Watson getting checked out at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for hamstring issues this offseason. According to the coaching staff, the Packers are already seeing positive returns from the scans Watson took there.

In 2022, Watson finished second on the team with 611 receiving yards behind Allen Lazard, who would wind up leaving in free agency the following offseason. In 2023, though, Watson recorded just 422 yards, somewhat of a sophomore slump, which ranked fourth on the Packers for the season.

Watson remains the only true blue “speed threat” at the top of Green Bay’s depth chart. Watson should be involved in a rotation with Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, based on how the team played its receivers last season. If Watson can’t make the most of his 2024 campaign, including staying healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising if the team looked elsewhere for speed at the position in 2025 — when Watson’s rookie deal will be in the final year. A lot is on the line for the North Dakota State product this season.

Jayden Reed

Romeo Doubs

Dontayvion Wicks

Speaking of the other “starting” receivers, Reed, Doubs and Wicks very much remain involved in the offense moving into the 2024 season. Collectively, they recorded 2,048 receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns in 2023 — which were rookie seasons for both Reed and Wicks.

Each player has a little bit of their own defined role in the offense. Reed is more of a slot receiver and gadget player. Doubs is the player who is targeted in tight coverage for tough catches on key downs, including in the end zone. Wicks is more of an open-field route-runner, which is why he has the highest yards per reception among this trio but also the fewest receiving touchdowns.

Don’t expect much of a shakeup this season at the top of the depth chart. All four of the Packers’ top receivers will play in a healthy rotation. Again, if you’re looking for clarity on which receiver in this group will out-produce the others, it’s far too early to know that for sure.

Bo Melton

Malik Heath

Samori Toure

Grant DuBose

This tier is where things get tricky. The Packers are expanding to a 4-3 defense, which requires more bodies at the off-ball linebacker position than they carried in their 3-4 defense, something that both the coaching staff and front office have mentioned this offseason. At the same time, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia rarely uses wide receivers on special teams, instead opting for safeties and cornerbacks at positions that receivers typically play in the third phase of football.

That could mean that Green Bay could carry a maximum of five or six receivers on its 53-man roster this season, which then translates to some tough cuts at the position. At this point, there are four potential options for one or two roster spots in this game of extreme musical chairs.

The first is Bo Melton, a former Seattle Seahawks draft pick who had a breakout 105-yard game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 last year. Before that game, Melton had only played 45 offensive snaps for the Packers all season, but he ended up playing 94 snaps for Green Bay in Weeks 17-18 and 39 in the postseason.

If the Packers want a special teams receiver on their roster, their best option is Malik Heath — who was an undrafted rookie last year. In 2023, Heath played a total of 71 special teams snaps, more than the rest of the receivers on the roster combined. Mind you, that includes Reed’s 42 snaps — which mostly came as a returner. Heath also played 260 offensive snaps as a rookie, which included him featured in blocking roles.

The other two receivers who are worth mentioning as roster bubble players are former draft picks Samori Toure and Grant DuBose. Toure fell out of favor a bit last year, as he averaged 26 snaps per game through the first three weeks of the season but was on the field for just an average of four snaps a game after that stretch. DuBose dealt with injuries during his rookie summer, which led to him being placed on the practice squad for the duration of the 2023 campaign. Still, the team spent draft picks on those two players and not Melton or Heath, which means they still have a chance to potentially sway the coaching staff this preseason.

Julian Hicks

Dimitri Stanley

Alex McGough

The final three players on this list are players who are more likely to be practice squad players than receivers who make the cut on the 53-man roster. Julian Hicks, an undrafted rookie from Albany, impressed Green Bay at the team’s rookie minicamp — which led to Hicks being offered a contract following the tryout. Dimitri Stanley was also signed out of rookie minicamp. The former Iowa State Cyclone is the son of former Packers fourth-round pick Walter Stanley, who was best known for being a return man in Green Bay.

The last player we’re going to mention is former quarterback Alex McGough, who joined the Packers last summer after earning USFL MVP honors with the Birmingham Stallions. McGough reportedly practiced often at receiver and tight end last season, as a quarterback on the practice squad. This year, Green Bay has announced that McGough will transition to the position full-time.