One of the Green Bay Packers’ primary goals this offseason will be finding some consistency in their passing game.
After lighting the league on fire in the back half of the 2023 season, Jordan Love and his receiving corps never quite took that next leap forward. You know what happened by now — the Packers couldn’t get out of their own way thanks to pre-snap penalties, a case of the drops, and going away from proven staple plays.
As Matt LaFleur makes offseason corrections, he’ll need to do so knowing he won’t start the season with Christian Watson, who suffered a torn ACL in the regular-season finale. It’s a brutal injury for a player who’s had bad luck with them, and now Watson is likely to miss the start of next season. According to Watson’s father, Tazim Wajid Wajed, Watson could return around Week 12 with a standard rehab.
The Packers are a better offense with Watson on the field, especially in attacking man defenses. While the numbers might not excite everyone, Watson does so much for the offense, and Green Bay will miss his presence.
Couple that injury with the fact that Watson and Romeo Doubs will soon be looking for contract extensions, and it’s fair to say the Packers need to add to their receiver room. It sounds like Brian Gutekunst doesn’t want to break the bank to bring in a definitive “WR1,” but perhaps a reunion with former Packer Marquez Valdes-Scantling could help lessen some of the pain of Watson’s absence.
PackersWire editor Zach Kruse suggested an MVS reunion on X, to a mostly negative reception.
Valdes-Scantling was a polarizing figure in his time with Green Bay, thanks to high expectations and a tendency to drop the ball in big moments. But as a No. 2 wide receiver, MVS did more good than bad, and he showed up in big games.
Most of Green Bay’s players struggled in the 2020 NFC Championship Game. However, MVS was a bright spot for the offense, catching four balls for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Following an unspectacular 2021 season, MVS priced himself out of Green Bay and accepted a three-year $30 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Valdes-Scantling was boom-or-bust as ever in his time with the Chiefs, but he showed up in big moments again.
In 2022, he caught six passes for 116 yards and a TD in the AFC Championship game, helping Kansas City reach the Super Bowl. He earned a ring two weeks later, although Patrick Mahomes only targeted him once for no catches in the championship game.
Valdes-Scantling didn’t play well in the 2023 regular season. Still, he had influential plays in the 2023 playoffs, including a 32-yard catch before the two-minute warning that allowed the Chiefs to run down the clock against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship. In the subsequent Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers, MVS had a touchdown in the 25-22 victory.
MVS signed with the Buffalo Bills last year, but they released him in October after trading for Amari Cooper. MVS joined a depleted New Orleans Saints WR room and finished the season strong.
In eight games in New Orleans, Valdes-Scantling had 17 receptions for 385 yards and four touchdowns. His 22.6 receiving yards per catch and 48.1 yards per game were career highs. MVS brought some juice to a terrible Saints offense that desperately needed it.
The Saints will likely want to bring back the speedy wide receiver. However, they have a new coaching regime incoming, so don’t know their roster priorities. If the Packers seek to add a veteran wide receiver, MVS is available and makes a lot of sense.
Watson has been uncharitably referred to as “faster MVS” by some in the fanbase, which isn’t remotely a fair comparison. But while he can’t do everything Watson can do, MVS could replicate some of what Watson offers, mainly a man-beating deep threat and a big-play magnet.
Luke Musgrave and Watson are Green Bay’s best receivers at beating man coverage. With Musgrave recovering from his injury and Watson getting injured before the playoffs, the Packers’ offense lacked that critical element. Love plays to win and needs someone who can get open for a deep shot or draw focus from defenders to open another option.
Gutekunst said that a need for a star WR isn’t a priority in his end-of-the-season presser.
“Historically, if you look at a lot of the teams, very rarely to teams that have one receiver that’s super heavy with targets,” he said, “that usually doesn’t play out well for playoffs.”
Yet, there is a need to add to the room. Watson’s injury is expected to linger into next season, and the Packers receiving corps was further depleted by the end of their loss in Philadelphia.
Team reunions are often more popular with fans than with the teams themselves, and Gutekunst hasn’t shown a sense of nostalgia by bringing in former Packers later in their career. He generally takes a next-man-up approach and trusts his young players. I would expect Gutekunst to add a pass-catcher through the draft. However, if MVS can come in on a veteran minimum-type deal and compete to fill in for some of what Watson can do, it would be money well spent.
