The Green Bay Packers’ wide receiver room is as young and inexperienced as ever, but some standouts are generating buzz. People are excited for Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs but also fringe players like Bo Melton and Jeff Cotton. The intrigue around who the Packers will keep at wideout is usually down to a handful of guys fighting for a spot. However, there is one player who was an afterthought, and he shouldn’t be.
Malik Heath has been an absolute stud.
Few people were talking about Heath coming into Green Bay’s first off-season workouts. I couldn’t find a report that hyped him up at all. Now the undrafted receiver from Ole Miss looks to have a solid chance to make the 53-man roster out of camp.
Heath has a really solid college player. He balled out at Ole Miss in his final year. Transferring from Mississippi State after the 2021 season, Heath ended his college career at Ole Miss and had a productive season and was an All-SEC selection.
He hauled in 60 passes at a 68% completion clip and racked up almost 1,000 yards to go along with five touchdowns. Heath was catching passes for an average of over 16 yards a reception. He had increasingly more productive in every single season during college.
A lot of the fringe guys at camp have Twitter highlights from college. However, Heath is getting a chance to run with the first team.
Heath is not the only rookie wide receiver getting attention. Jayden Reed, the second-rounder from Michigan State, has also been making plays and getting reps with the first team.
If I had to make a depth chart or rank the receivers, I’d split them into two tiers. There are the roster locks and guys fighting for roster spots.
Locks: Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks.
On the bubble: Malik Heath, Grant DuBose, Bo Melton, Deuce Watts, Jeff Cotton.
That’s five locks and five players fighting for a spot. The Packers only kept five receivers on the opening roster last year. They have kept up to seven in the past, which is rare in the NFL and has happened infrequently in Green Bay.
Watson and Doubs are the starters. Reed and Wicks were both high draft selections, so they’re not going anywhere. Toure is a guy who head coach Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutenkunst rave about in press conferences and interviews whenever they can.
DuBose has not gotten a chance to be at practice and showcase his play. He’s been out with an undisclosed injury. Would DuBose have gotten those first-team reps had he been healthy? Who knows. For Heath, that’s just a bit of competition out of the way for the time being. At this point, it seems like Watts and Cotton are very much long shots to make the team. Bo Melton, who has NFL experience, is known for his speed and could provide a boost on special teams.
Gutekunst has preferred to retain the guys on the roster that he drafted. Still, the Packers have a pretty remarkable streak of keeping undrafted free agents on the roster. Perhaps Heath could keep the trend alive. He’s not an off-the-chart athlete that Brian Gutenkunst usually likes to target, but he’s not a terrible athlete either. He’s listed at 6’2”, 213 lbs. That’s the typical size that Gutenkunst likes.
Malik Heath has made plays at camp. He’s put himself in a really good position to have the inside track for the last receiver spot if the Packers choose to go that way.
All stats and data via ESPN, unless otherwise noted
