Ask anyone who’s even kind of a Green Bay Packers fan — your grandmother, the mailman, the friendly bartender making your old fashioned this Friday night — and they’ll tell you that the team had better be selecting a wide receiver early on in next week’s draft. Fans are split on which prospect they hope will end up eventually donning the green and gold, but what’s the Day 1 scenario that would drive Green Bay fans the absolute craziest? Passing up the opportunity to draft Jameson Williams or Chris Olave if either one is available at Green Bay’s current first-round selection.
By many draft experts’ analysis, there’s something nearing a consensus of what the top of the wide receiver draft class looks like. Garrett Wilson, the 6’0″ technician out of Ohio State, and Drake London, the 6’5” beast out of USC, are ranked as the 10th- and 12th-best available players by Pro Football Focus. The Packers currently have the 22nd and 28th picks in the first round, the first coming after they traded Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. There’s very, very little chance that either of these players will still be available if Green Bay sits tight at No. 22. Therefore, for the sake of this discussion, we’ll go ahead and consider Wilson and London unavailable.
After that, the order becomes a mix of preference and health, but the safe bet is that at least a handful of wide receivers will go in the first round. The consensus betting over/under for wideouts to go in the first round is 5.5, with the odds trending towards the over in recent weeks at places such as Bovada, where the over is currently -350.
After Wilson and London, the wide-receiver prospects become a bit of a matter of taste. There’s no denying that Alabama’s Jameson Williams would be firmly in the mix to be a top-10 draft pick had he not torn his ACL in the NCAA National Championship game just a few months ago.
He’s got a lethal mix of size (6’1”) and deep-threat speed (although he didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the combine, which is difficult to do with a torn ACL). Every team will need to weigh that injury in their assessment of Williams. Mild hesitation will probably creep into the minds of general managers around the league about drafting a player coming off such a high-profile injury, which may cause the uber-talented Williams to fall down the draft board just a bit.
Ohio State’s Chris Olave is another player who might be there at No. 22 and perhaps even at No. 28. His scouting report reads like something that Aaron Rodgers would be in favor of — crisp route running, excellent release, consistency down-field. It also just so happens to sound a little bit like a young Davante Adams.
After those four, there will likely be a couple of others who fit into the first round. Treylon Burks (Arkansas) has an enticing mix of size and speed. Skyy Moore (Western Michigan) and Jahan Dotson (Penn State) could be dynamic as slot receivers and would be in the mix at No. 28. Even a guy like Christian Watson, who played at North Dakota State and lit up the combine, might find his way into the first round.
Everyone knows that wide receivers are going to go. If that over hits in the first round and the Packers aren’t involved, cheeseheads everywhere may just lose their minds.
There’s a scenario where Williams scares off enough teams and falls into Green Bay’s lap at No. 22. Perhaps after that, a few teams get quarterback-happy and trade up to select a Sam Howell or Desmond Ridder late in the first round, and Olave is still available at No. 28. Unlikely, perhaps, but runs on positions happen almost every year, and the Packers certainly could benefit.
If those dominoes align and general manager Brian Gutekunst passes on a potential combination of Williams and Olave in the first round, there’s no telling what Packers fans might do. Heck, who knows what Aaron Rodgers might do! Coming away with one of the two in the first round would be a huge win, especially if paired with a pass rusher or offensive tackle that the team really likes. Coming away with both? That would be hitting the jackpot.
If there’s a run on receivers before the Green Bay gets to pick at No. 22, and Gutekunst isn’t willing to spend the draft capital to move up, there’s at least a logic at work. The Packers could still come away with a Watson, Moore, or Dotson at No. 28, then get into the mix for a George Pickens (Georgia), Jalen Tolbert (South Alabama), or Cincinnati’s Alec Pierce in the second round and still have it be a successful draft.
However, passing on premier talents like Williams and Olave would be a bold move by Gutekunst and a worst-case scenario for Green Bay fans.
Actually, who am I kidding? The Packers selecting another quarterback, say Sam Howell from North Carolina, at No. 22 and then going super-boring like guard or center at No. 28 would be the worst scenario that triggers an angry mob of Wisconsinites to riot outside the Kwik Trip gate at Lambeau. But that’s something that I hope Gutekunst is smart enough to avoid.
