The Green Bay Packers have dedicated themselves to surrounding Jordan Love with young wide receivers that he can grow with. This means, of course, that there will be no free agent signings at the position (not that there are quality players available anyway). This situation has led many to wonder what the depth chart will look like come Week One.
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Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson will be the Packers’ starting wide receivers who line up outside. Many suppose that 2023 second round pick Jayden Reed will be the team’s primary slot receiver to start the year as well. That leaves just two or three spots up for grabs between Samori Toure, Dontayvion Wicks, Grant DuBose, Bo Melton, and Jeff Cotton.
Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Indicates Samori Toure Has an Advantage

In a recent interview, Coach LaFleur stated:
“Samori has had his moments and we gotta continue to build upon those and become more and more consistent along the way. But he’s a guy that we definitely have high hopes for. He has the tools necessary that you look for in terms of being able to separate. He has them in his body. He possesses those. It’s just continuing to get more and more reps.”
Toure came into voluntary team activities having added eight pounds of muscle. He himself told Packers.com that he believes the added weight will make a difference:
“I didn’t do a lot of stuff different, but I just feel like I was more intentional in the weight room. I’ve got a pretty wiry body, so honestly, I put on eight pounds, and I really don’t even notice but I can definitely feel a difference. I feel more explosive. I feel stronger.”
So what does that mean for Toure, who was left off of the gameday roster more often than not in 2022? It means that the Packers believe that he can be their fourth or fifth wide receiver in 2023. One could argue that he almost has to be in order to justify the Packers not brining in any veterans.
Last season, Toure appeared in 11 games, but was targeted just 10 times. As I detailed here, his low usage in 2022 means nothing in terms of what kind of player he will be.
He has put in the work and is looking stronger and more consistent in his route running thus far during OTA’s and mandatory mini camp. As LaFleur noted, the key is getting him the reps that he needs to continue to get better.
And this is exactly why the Packers did not sign any veteran wide receivers. They believe in Toure and their young wide receiver room. They just need the opportunities on the field, opportunities they would not get if there were more veterans in the room.
2023 is going to be a year in which many players need to prove they were worth the decision the Packers made. Toure is one of them, and early indications are that he is going to show everyone that the front office was right.
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