The Green Bay Packers wide receiver room consists of many first and second year players. As of right now, head coach Matt LaFleur says the the plan is for them to roll with the youth they have and not pursue an established veteran. Of course, this is a change from what he said during the NFL Owner’s Meetings when he said he would like to see a veteran added to the room. As it is, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs entered OTA’s with the most regular season snaps of any other wide receiver in camp. However, two surprising names are the ones that have really turned heads thus far.
Green Bay Packers Surprising Wide Receiver #1: Dontayvion Wicks
The Packers drafted three wide receivers in the NFL Draft for the second year in a row. Thus far, second round pick Jayden Reed has been getting the most hype. However, it is fifth round pick Dontayvion Wicks that drew praise from media members who attended OTA’s on Tuesday:
Jordan Love just launched a 55-yard strike to rookie WR Dontayvion Wicks.
Perfect throw and a nice catch by Wicks, looking up into the sun.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) May 23, 2023
Dontayvion Wicks has made a few plays today, just caught a short fade for a 7 yard TD from Danny Etling #Packers
— Wes Hodkiewicz👨💻 (@WesHod) May 23, 2023
Last season at Virginia, Wicks caught 30 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns in just eight games played. In 2021, when he played 12 games, he caught 57 passes for 1,207 yards and nine touchdowns.
Green Bay Packers Surprising Wide Receiver #2: Samori Toure
Samori Toure was one of the Packers’ seventh round picks in 2022. He appeared in 11 games, but received just 10 targets. He caught five of these for 82 yards and a touchdown. In 2021, his lone year at Nebraska, Toure had 46 receptions for 898 yards and five touchdowns.
With Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb gone, Toure has a real shot at getting more playing time this season. From the sound of it, he has certainly put in the work this offseason:
Same period, Jordan Love hits Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure for short TDs. Just moving down the list. Doubs made a nice move to get into end zone on left sideline, and Love fit a tight window to Toure on final rep of today’s practice.
A bit short of 2 hours today.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) May 23, 2023
Last week, #Packers WRs coach Jason Vrable raved about Samori Toure.
“Everybody around the building is like, ’83 looks unbelievable right now.'”
That’s music to the ears of his trainer, Aaron Woods.https://t.co/TkhLZH6hZ5
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) May 23, 2023
The six wide receivers that the Packers drafted in the past two offseasons are Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Toure, Reed, Wicks, and Grant DuBose. Watson and Doubs played well last year and are expected to be the team’s top two receivers this season. If Toure and Wicks are as good as coaches and the media that watched OTA’s believe they can be, perhaps the offense will not be as bad as some people are predicting.
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