The Super Bowl is barely in the rearview mirror, but free agency is already just around the corner.
If you’re a fan of most NFL teams, you’ll dream about the impact players your team could acquire. If you’re a fan of the Green Bay Packers, you’ll dream about the impact players that go to other teams while Brian Gutekunst signs Christian Kirksey or Sammy Watkins.
The Packers will be in every conversation, but ultimately they’ll settle for a few cheap veterans who perform better than the fanbase expects despite not being household names. Getting into Odell Beckham Jr. hype territory is asking for heartbreak, but the truth is that Green Bay needs to fill a few roster voids.
Regardless of who the quarterback is, the Packers need to bring in some outside help at wide receiver. Christian Watson is your WR1, and he’s on pace to probably be the greatest wide receiver of all time, but even he can’t do it alone. With Allen Lazard seeking a big payday and Randall Cobb currently a free agent, Green Bay needs a veteran option.
While there may be some flashier names out there, former Tennessee Titans’ WR Robert Woods makes the most sense for the Packers. He knows the basic offense and might not break the bank. Woods checks a lot of boxes in terms of Green Bay’s need and seems like their type of free agent.
Woods was part of a high-powered passing attack with the Los Angeles Rams, posting three (almost) 1,000-plus-yard seasons from 2018 to 2020. Yeah, 2020 was technically 936 yards, but it’s close enough, okay? Woods was well on pace for another solid showing in 2021 until a torn ACL ended his season.
The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021 and had some tough decisions to make with the cap. Woods became a cap casualty and they traded him to the Titans for a sixth-round pick (a deal I thought the Packers should have made). Woods’ lone season with the Titans wasn’t amazing. He caught 53 of his 91 targets for 527 yards and just two touchdowns. It was his worst pro season despite playing all 17 games.
But there are some viable reasons to believe it was an anomaly for Woods rather than his new norm. The Titans are a run-first team with an absolutely atrocious passing offense (against every team but the Packers). That only got worse late in the season when Ryan Tannehill got hurt and the Titans turned to Malik Willis. Tennessee lost seven-straight games after beating Green Bay in Week 11.
The Titans traded star wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Super Bowl runner-up Philadelphia Eagles, which really hurt their overall passing attack. For Woods’ part, he still wasn’t fully recovered from his injury and looked to have lost a step. We know ACLs can be tricky, as we saw in Green Bay with David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins.
A 30-year-old wide receiver coming off of his worst pro season and a major injury may not sound exciting on paper, but I think Woods’ year with the Titans was an anomaly. He’s now over a year removed from his injury, and he’s a better fit with Green Bay.
Woods played the prime of his career in LA with Sean McVay. His offensive coordinator in 2017 was a guy named Matt LaFleur. (That guy is head coach of the Packers right now!) Woods had the most successful stretch of his career in an offense similar to Green Bay’s and has personally worked with the head coach. He’ll have a good understanding of how the playbook works and pick up on the differences quickly.
Woods has played all over the field, including having 41% of his snaps come from the slot, according to Paul Bretl of Dairyland Express. We know LaFleur loves position versatility and the offense needs to get back to its “illusion of complexity” philosophy. Woods’ ability to line up anywhere can help that. Woods also isn’t afraid to do the dirty work in the offense. He has consistently been a skilled and eager blocker, and we know LaFleur loves a blocking receiver.
Green Bay has some exciting young receivers in the room with Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure, and they’ll likely add another one through the draft. But having a veteran presence to rely on and teach the young guys how to succeed in the NFL is essential. Sammy Watkins was supposed to fill that role last season but didn’t. Woods would be a clear upgrade in that role, especially if Lazard and Cobb are gone.
The biggest issue will be price. Woods’ last deal with LA was four years, $65 million, and the Packers won’t be able to afford anything in that stratosphere. After being cut by the Titans, his next deal won’t be to that level, but Green Bay will need something close to the vet minimum, and other teams will have much more to offer.
If Green Bay wants to get back on top of the NFC, they need more from their offensive weapons. Woods might not be a “big name” option, but he’s had a successful career, has Super Bowl experience, knows the offense, and can help guide the young receivers in the room. If the price is right, this is the kind of free-agent signing that makes a lot of sense for the Packers — and is actually plausible.
