The Green Bay Packers 2024 offseason shook up the roster in many ways, departing from veterans like Aaron Jones and De’Vondre Campbell. After putting together an impressive 2023 season (particularly on offense), it was in question how (or if) the Packers would switch up their wide receiver depth chart. In an unexpected switch-up, the Packers switched backup QB Alex McGough to wide receiver to save him from being cut, though he ultimately didn’t keep his spot on the Green Bay Packers 90-man roster.
The Green Bay Packers brought in receivers Rory Starkey and Jalen Wayne to replace McGough. One of those names may ring a familiar bell.
Green Bay Packers Sign Cousin Of NFL Hall Of Famer
Jalen Wayne found himself undrafted out of South Alabama and bounced around NFL and CFL rosters over the last year before finding a spot with the Green Bay Packers. After three years with light production Wayne caught 418 yards in 2020, 53 passes for 630 yards in 2021 and 58 passes for 817 yards in 2022, setting career highs in catches and yards during his final season.
Wayne’s last name is shared by that of NFL Hall of Famer, Reggie Wayne, and it is no coincidence.
“We connected over social media and Instagram,”Jalen Wayne told The Buffalo News. “I let him know we were related. After that, he gave me his number. From my sophomore year until now, he’s been in my ear helping me out.”
Reggie Wayne is in his third season as the Colts’ receivers coach.
“From the first time he started talking to me, he gave me a bunch of drills to do,” Jalen Wayne said. “I mastered all that stuff, mastered my craft. After that is when the mental aspect came in. He told me stuff to think about on game day, stuff not to think about. ‘Think about what the quarterback is doing, think about your job and being open.’ If it’s a Cover-3 team, he’ll tell me how to run routes that day. It was a lot. It was day-to-day actually. My senior year, he’d scout me.”
Such advice is a lucky resource, and could only help tune Wayne into a weapon on offense. But his ability does not only apply to his catching but his pride in the run game.
“I love to block for running backs,” he said at the Combine. “I’m a friendly guy with a running back. And then I’m the guy that goes between the hashes and makes all those tough catches that not many guys want to do anymore.
“I was letting them know in the interviews I’m a low-maintenance, high-performance guy. Not somebody you’ve got to worry about but, when he gets on the field, he’s going to do his job every single time and be the same guy every single day.”
Such mentality could prove to be a commodity for the Green Bay Packers run game in the future.
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