Green Bay started their offseason by checking kicker off the list of needs by re-signing Brandon McManus. They also kept around a depth piece at linebacker by inking Isaiah McDuffie to a two-year deal.
But the speculation about their wide receiver room keeps getting louder, and they don’t have the luxury of being patient with the market.
The Cincinnati Bengals franchise tagged wide receiver Tee Higgins for the second year in a row. (A different topic for another day: Why it’s dumb that a team is allowed to do that two years in a row. But I digress.) Higgins was the top name on the market of free-agent wide receivers, and he’s staying put.
San Francisco traded Deebo Samuel to Washington. Another name off the board.
While reports of Green Bay discussing a D.K. Metcalf trade with the Seattle Seahawks were shot down, it’s still not impossible for that deal to still come to fruition. However, reports indicating that Seattle is asking for a significant return, including a first-rounder, make it even more unlikely.
The New York Jets released Davante Adams on Tuesday. A reunion in Green Bay sounds too perfect to be true, especially as reports continue to circulate that he would prefer to be on the West Coast.
After sorting through the top end of the market, it gets pretty bleak.
There’s serious name recognition among the group of free agents at the position. However, the list is littered with players who are former No. 1 options who no longer fit that bill.
Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, and DeAndre Hopkins highlight the class. All carry serious name recognition, but none pack the punch they once did.
Therein lies the problem for Green Bay.
Brian Gutekunst and the Packers have come around on the idea that they need a No. 1 wideout. Higgins would’ve been that, but he’s back with the Bengals. Adams could be that, but he may prefer the west coast.
Allen was a WR1 with the Los Angeles Chargers for years. However, the soon-to-be 33-year-old is not that anymore; last year, he was second in targets, receptions, and yards with the Chicago Bears.
The Cleveland Browns traded Cooper to the Buffalo Bills in October. He had only 20 receptions in eight games during the regular season and was a non-factor in the playoffs.
Diggs is coming off a torn ACL at 31 years old. Meanwhile, Hopkins wasn’t even a secondary or tertiary option in the passing game in Kansas City.
It will make sense for teams needing a little push and depth to pick up those players. That was Buffalo’s philosophy when they traded for Cooper. The same can be said with Kansas City’s acquisition of Hopkins.
Green Bay doesn’t need “a little push” at wide receiver. Of all the position groups, that room may have the most unanswered questions, even if it still has a ton of potential entering the new year. Putting a Band-Aid over a wound that needs stitches isn’t a solution. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Waiting out the market isn’t an option, either.
Chris Godwin is also a free agent and led the league in receptions before a dislocated ankle ended his season abruptly in October. He could be in play, but there’s a risk in signing someone coming off that injury who’s already 29.
Corner is another need for the Packers, but that free-agent class has incredible depth infused with guys in their prime, like Byron Murphy, D.J. Reed, Asante Samuel Jr., and Charvarius Ward.
There’s always a risk associated with feeling out the market instead of going big-game hunting from the rip. However, the cornerback class offers Green Bay flexibility in the quantity and quality of options.
The receiver market is more comparable to a 16-year-old thoroughbred clinging to its younger years on the track, hoping for one last victory lap.
Green Bay can’t hide in the weeds on this one.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported the latest buzz on Green Bay’s quest to find a wide receiver following the NFL Combine.
The Packers — who have been more aggressive free-agent bidders in the Brian Gutekunst era than their reputation suggests — could be spenders this month. They’re looking to add a veteran wide receiver to their very young room.
How Green Bay navigates free agency will go a long way in determining the successes this team can have next season. The draft will be another potential path, with the Packers picking at No. 23, they’re more likely to find a corner who could make an immediate impact than a top-end wide receiver ready to take the reins in 2025.
Gutekunst has used the word “urgency” when discussing Green Bay’s roadmap for the immediate future. Getting a wide receiver early in the draft would make fans giddy. However, the odds of that pick being an instant No. 1 option right away are slim, and that’s what the Packers are missing.
The Packers need the immediate impact option. Free agency is the most likely path to finding that. The pickings are slim, and because of that, Green Bay can’t afford to be patient at wide receiver.
