The Green Bay Packers won’t find one suitable replacement for Davante Adams, the two-time first-team All-Pro they recently traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. You can argue the trade is good or bad for the Packers, but either way, Green Bay will need to rebuild the wide receiver room. However, that has already been a need for some time even before the trade last week.
The Packers currently have seven receivers under contract: Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers, Malik Taylor, Juwann Winfree, Chris Blair, and Rico Gafford. But Rodgers is the only one who is not on an expiring contract. Because of that, there is a necessity to find Adams’ immediate replacement and long-term options.
The good news for the Packers is that now they have extra draft capital because the Raiders sent first- and second-round picks for Adams. They also have extra cap space because the trade opened up $20 million, the amount attached to Adams’ franchise tag. Therefore, while it’s hard to find one weapon as prolific as Adams, the Packers might build a new, more balanced unit.
Let’s look at some of the options.
Free Agency
Julio Jones
We’ve already talked about Julio Jones. At 32, he isn’t the same athletic freak he once was, but he can still produce at a high level when healthy. He was released by the Tennessee Titans and shouldn’t get a big payday because of his age. If the Packers can negotiate a similar deal to what I proposed last week – a $12 million deal with void years, with a cap hit of something around $3 million this year – Jones would give Green Bay a WR1 threat, opening lanes for his fellow receivers.
Will Fuller
The Packers tried hard to acquire Fuller from the Houston Texans at the 2020 season’s trade deadline. But Houston asked for a second-round pick, and the Packers weren’t interested in offering more than a fourth. Last offseason, he signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Miami Dolphins but was injured and didn’t produce much.
Even so, Fuller is a fast and skilled receiver with high-end potential. If the Packers can draft a top prospect in the first round, Fuller would be an ideal WR2 for Matt LaFleur. He is only 27 years old, so the former Notre Dame player might be a long-term option. A three-year deal to keep him in Green Bay for the future and spread the cap hit would be an ideal scenario.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
MVS is well-known in Green Bay for his speed, but also because of the drops. However, his role as a deep threat has been an essential component of the Packers’ offense for the last four years. Green Bay was out of the negotiations for him, and he reportedly attracted interest from various teams. However, the Packers entered the bidding war after Adams’ trade.
MVS is a smart signing if the price is right because he knows the system and Aaron Rodgers.
John Ross
If the Packers can’t sign Fuller or MVS, they’ll need to find another fast receiver to build the WR room. Lazard, Cobb, and Rodgers aren’t speedy options. Ross hasn’t lived up to his draft status, which probably was a byproduct of his record-setting 40-yard dash in the combine.
But his speed is still a factor, and he would be the cheaper alternative. Last offseason, Ross signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the New York Giants. He averaged little more than one reception per game, but also more than 20 yards per reception for the season.
Trade
D.K. Metcalf
We don’t know exactly how the Seattle Seahawks view Metcalf, but he is in the final year of his rookie deal. Therefore, a trade here would cost high-draft capital (probably a first) and then a long-term extension. Metcalf is the best chance to replace Adams as a WR1, but it’s hard to imagine Brian Gutekunst being inclined to pay that much for a veteran.
Tyler Lockett
If the Seahawks think they are in rebuild mode, trading Lockett makes more sense than Metcalf because Lockett will be 30 in September. He would probably cost the Packers a second- or third-round pick but has a team-friendly contract – his cap hit in 2022 would be $6.25 million, and they could restructure him to delay some of the impact. Besides that, he is under contract until 2025, something Green Bay needs to be competitive after this season.
Brandin Cooks
Cooks knows what it’s like to be traded. The New Orleans Saints traded him to the New England Patriots, who traded him to the Los Angeles Rams, who then traded him to the Texans. Cooks is 28 years old and is in the last year of his current deal, so a trade couldn’t cost that much to make sense for the Packers. But Cooks is a solid WR1, with six 1,000-yard seasons for four different teams.
Cooks is a viable alternative if the Packers can trade a third for him and work on an extension.
Draft
Chris Olave
The most probable scenario for the Packers is to use the draft capital to find young and inexpensive players. That’s the Packer Way. Chris Olave might be the best option because it’s realistic for him to be available at No. 22 – but not at No. 28.
Olave has speed, production, and reliability and might be a WR1 for the future.
Jameson Williams
Williams wouldn’t have a chance to be available at No. 22 without a serious knee injury suffered during his final college game. But the injury can cost him some money in the draft. The medical reports indicate Jameson should make a full recovery. Therefore, a smart team will have a great prospect for excellent value.
If that’s the Packers, they should be comfortable with the idea that Williams might lose the start of the season but should be ready for the playoff run.
Christian Watson
The Packers haven’t drafted a wide receiver in the first round since 2002. Watson could be the target if Gutekunst decides to keep the streak alive and find options later in the draft. He played against weaker competition in North Dakota State. But he has the body profile the Packers love: a tall (6’5”) and fast (4.36 40-yard dash) receiver.
Watson can be available at the end of the second round.
