"Should have packaged the first-round picks to go get one of those guys" - NFL analyst not happy with Packers' drafting strategy for WR
The Green Bay Packers had an exciting draft strategy heading into the first round. With two first-round picks, the Packers elected not to trade up or use either pick on a wide receiver.
When they traded All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for their 2022 first- and second-round picks, many thought the Packers would be able to find Aaron Rodgers a star wide receiver. But even after the draft, things are looking suspect in Green Bay.
Former NFL player and current analyst Marcus Spears thinks Green Bay should have packaged their first-round picks for a star-wideout.
Spears said:
"We wanted to see [the Packers] get a wide receiver, and personally, I thought they should have packaged the first-round picks to go get one of the guys that we considered elite. But when you think about what Aaron Rodgers has done with Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings, and obviously Davante, seeing him, you would think that there's a type of guy that they identify that can come in this offense and have success because of who their quarterback is. "
Spears added that the Packers play better with a star receiver such as Adams, and they can't make the necessary shift in the absence of a star receiver:
"Ultimately when you look at this team, and Aaron Rodgers' contract, he's going to have to elevate the level of play. The one thing that gives me pause is last year's playoffs. Davante Adams was going crazy in the first half. They took Davante Adams away in this offense (in the second half) and we focus on how bad Aaron Rodgers played but ultimately it was because it was a shift that they would have needed to make offensively that they could not."
While Green Bay didn't draft a wide receiver in the first round, they drafted NDSU's Christian Watson in the second round, and he could be their new No. 1 receiver this season.
@ChristianW2017
Welcome to Green Bay, Christian Watson
• 6’4, 208 lb WR with NFL bloodlines
• Dominated at NDSU with Trey Lance
• 4.36 40-yd dash, 11’4 broad jump
• Averaged 20+ yards per catch
• Multiple kickoff return TD’s
Sky’s the limit🔥@ChristianW2017 https://t.co/UQPV7p9PZJ
The Packers' WR group looks completely different than last season's
The Green Bay Packers wide receiver group looks completely different heading into the 2022-2023 season than it did a season ago.
It's a one-year, $4 million deal for Sammy Watkins with the #Packers, per source.
The team lost Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St. Brown in free agency this off-season. They've added veteran wide receiver Sammy Watkins and drafted Christian Watson in the second round and Romeo Doubs in the fourth round of the draft.