The stark difference between the vibes following the Green Bay Packers’ first two weeks and the last two weeks has been numbing. Chatter went from wondering if the Packers had the best defense in the NFL to focusing on penalties and special teams issues. But, quietly, Green Bay’s wide receivers have eliminated one glaring problem from a year ago: dropped passes.
While we’re only four games into the regular season, they’ve remedied their dropped passes, especially those that come at inopportune times.
Keep in mind that drops are a subjective stat, and whether a pass can be considered a drop may vary depending on the outlet. But last season it didn’t matter what outlet you looked at; they all concurred. Drops were a major problem in 2024.
Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed both ranked in the top-five in total drops and were at or near the top of the league in drop rate last year. ESPN tagged the Packers with the highest drop rate (6.3%) and the second-most drops (29) in the league last year.
Pro Football Reference listed the Packers with 33 drops, third-most in the league.
It was a point of emphasis throughout the offseason, and one that head coach Matt LaFleur frequently referenced.
You’ve got to finish the catch. Some of those were some challenging balls to catch, but ultimately that’s what they get paid to do. You’ve got to catch the ball and that’s got to be primary. I think most of it was focus related. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort or skill. I think our guys are capable. I think we’ve seen that from them.
Per PFF, Wicks had an 18% drop rate and had just four contested catches on 16 contested-catch looks. So far in 2025, Wicks has one drop on 16 targets and has hauled in two contested catches on four such opportunities.
Romeo Doubs is one of the most sure-handed receivers on the team in 2024, and that has been the case again this year. Still, Doubs had five drops a year ago. This year, Doubs is tied with Tucker Kraft for the most targets on the team (19) and has just one drop. More impressively, Doubs has five contested catches in eight such situations. When working in and through traffic, Doubs has been terrific.
Rookie Matthew Golden was lauded all offseason for potentially already having the best hands on the team and has zero drops on 14 targets.
Some of last season’s headaches remain. Penalties continue to vex Green Bay; the Packers are averaging 8.8 penalties per game, which was the third-most in the league entering Week 5. And somehow special-teams foibles keep popping up. A blocked field-goal attempt at the end of the Cleveland Browns game and a blocked extra-point attempt the following week against the Dallas Cowboys were low points. Add to that the inexperienced Golden returning punts, and it hasn’t been a recipe for success.
Dropped passes, though? For now, it appears to be a thing of the past.
It could bubble up again at some point, but it feels safe to give this wide receiver group their kudos for whatever they did in the offseason to clean up the problem. Per Pro Football Reference, the Packers have a drop rate of 2.5%. That’s tied for seventh-best in the NFL. Green Bay’s three drops are tied for fifth-best in the league.
What’s been most impressive is that while the Packers added Golden and Savion Williams, they returned their core from last year. It’s that group with Doubs and Wicks, and the injured Reed and Christian Watson, that has garnered a lot of the attention and targets. So it’s those guys improving from last year’s woes.
The recievers’ relative sure-handedness has allowed LaFleur to put more faith in the passing game early in the season.
Last year, Green Bay relied heavily on the ground attack to open up the pass game early on in contests. However, it’s been a role reversal this year. Many of the successes on drives early in games this year have come from the passing game, which has carried the weight, while the running game makes some early adjustments.
There’s plenty to clean up in the bye week, and it starts with penalties. Getting healthy, primarily up front on the offensive line, would also be splendid. But at least the Packers don’t have to worry about dropped passes.
