The Green Bay Packers have relied heavily on Romeo Doubs in the passing game over the last few years, and he led the team in targets in two of the last three seasons, including 2025. But with Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks gone, Green Bay will need to reshape how Jordan Love spreads the ball around.
That creates one of the more intriguing storylines heading into 2026, because the Packers suddenly have a major opportunity available in their receiver room.
Green Bay will probably build most of their passing attack around Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden. Savion Williams is an interesting player because of his upside and versatility, and I expect the Packers to get him involved more this year. Still, unless injuries open the door for a larger role, he projects more as a rotational piece than a consistent target.
I won’t spend too much time on Kraft because the main goal here is figuring out which receiver is most likely to lead Green Bay in targets this season. Watson is the first interesting case. Last year, he posted 35 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 17.5 yards per reception. His biggest strength is still as a deep threat, so Green Bay is probably never going to funnel a massive number of targets his way on a drive-to-drive basis.
The Packers can better balance his usage between the deep and short passing game —if he stays healthy. Personally, I believe he should be That Guy in the offense. Still, considering he has never led Green Bay in targets since arriving in 2022, it’s hard to project him as the team’s target leader even if his role grows in 2026.
Reed led Green Bay in receiving yards in each of his first two NFL seasons. He signed a three-year extension worth $50.25 million in new money with the Packers this offseason. Despite missing half of the 2025 season after suffering a broken collarbone in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders, he remained one of the most efficient players in the passing game. Reed finished the year with 1.83 yards per route run and a 121 passer rating when targeted.
Golden is the wild card in this receiving corps. He finished last season with only one touchdown catch, which came in the fourth quarter of the playoff game against the Chicago Bears. That score should have been the dagger, if not for the fact that the Packers couldn’t play even average special teams.
During stretches last season when the receiver room for Green Bay was short-handed, he saw an expanded role. He took advantage of it, finishing with 16 catches on 19 targets for 233 yards across four games without Jayden Reed or Christian Watson available.
Reports out of OTAs say Golden has started the season on a strong note. It’s still only practice, but that’s kind of the point. Given the choice, you’d always rather hear a young receiver is looking comfortable and building momentum in the offseason than trying to explain away struggles in workouts that are nowhere close to real game conditions.
Considering the current structure of Green Bay’s offense, I think Reed is the safest bet to handle the largest share of the workload in the passing game. That said, keep an eye on Golden.
If he continues to develop and eventually breaks out, he has a legitimate chance to climb past everyone in the hierarchy. He brings a more complete skill set than Reed and carries the highest ceiling in the group, even if each receiver offers something different and valuable to the offense in their own way.
