It’s been a roller coaster start to the season for the Green Bay Packers. They’re four weeks in and have a mark in all three sections of their record. They dominated the two best teams on their schedule, lost to the worst, and tied with the average one. We have no idea who they are right now, and I’m not sure the coaching staff does, either — especially based on the way they are deploying their rookie receivers.
The Packers are 2-1-1 heading into the bye week, and the coaching staff has a lot of questions to answer. However, we know that Green Bay’s rookie receivers were ready to go immediately.
Heading into the season, Green Bay had a deep and youthful receiver room, featuring pass catchers with diverse skill sets. Still, there wasn’t a true WR1. That created an early opportunity for first-round pick Matthew Golden, who stepped in amid training camp injuries to Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks and impressed. Reed then suffered another injury in Week 2, and Golden’s role really solidified.
Despite the opportunity and camp hype that Golden received and how impressive he’s looked, the production hasn’t quite followed yet. Golden only has 11 receptions on 14 targets for 126 yards and six carries for 29 yards.
However, two of those targets that didn’t result in receptions were deep shots where Golden burned the defense. Jordan Love missed him, and Golden had a third big play that could’ve been even bigger if he hadn’t gone out of bounds.
The production is coming. If Golden played all season like he has over the past two games, he would be on pace for over 70 catches and 900 yards, and it feels like the Packers could tap into more with each receiver.
On the other hand, Savion Williams came into the season with low expectations. However, he has been a surprise contributor in the first four games. He had a rocky training camp because he couldn’t stay on the field due to injuries. Once the season started, he was instantly playing snaps on both offense and special teams.
He doesn’t have gaudy numbers, with only four catches for 23 yards and five carries for 24 yards. Still, Williams is already part of the offense and looks the part, which is a good sign for a guy that many thought could be a redshirt.
Williams has also been the primary kick returner. That has been quite an adventure. He’s shown some flashes as a returner, but like with every phase of special teams, they can’t seem to finish a play without some mistake. There have also been a handful of flags on kick returns. Also, last week, Williams had issues fielding Brandon Aubrey’s kickoffs that would bounce in the landing zone and into the end zone, so Green Bay was consistently starting drives at the 20.
While the rookies have occasionally impressed, they’ve also looked like rookies. That’s not all their fault, though. Matt LaFleur and his staff should reevaluate the way they’ve been using them to this point.
Golden has looked the part as a receiver. He’s second in PFF raw separation grade, and you’ve seen that translate on tape with the two missed deep shots and a plethora of plays that he’s been open, but Love didn’t target him.
However, the frustrating part about his start to the season is Golden’s usage as a gadget player. Texas never used him as a gadget player, and nobody projected him to be that in the NFL. They’ve continually given him end-around carries through four games, and they’ve been extremely underwhelming.
The frustrating part about this is that they drafted Williams two rounds later, who’s exactly that type of player. Williams has had his fair share of carries, but he’s looked much more natural doing that. Meanwhile, Golden has looked much more natural as a receiver.
I hope that over the bye week, LaFleur and his staff will evaluate and correct this issue. Golden is a pure receiver and a good one, and Savion should be getting more touches. There’s an easy fix there:
Along with the gadget plays, the Packers have frequently used him as a punt returner, and that has also been underwhelming. Again, Golden never did this in college and didn’t project to do it in the NFL.
LaFleur and his staff have been trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and that needs to change. Golden is a good receiver. He’s been inches away from multiple breakout games, and that should be the focus from here on out.
It’ll be an interesting final quarter of the season. Christian Watson is expected to be back sometime soon, and he’s going to be playing snaps as soon as he’s ready. Reed will return eventually, and the room will become extremely competitive again. These rookies have had a role, but they’ll have to step it up in the near future to continue seeing a healthy number of snaps. Still, I’m excited for both of their futures.
