Green Bay Packers: Reggie Begelton a Favorite Target of Jordan Love

Wide Reciever Reggie Begelton was a name that was on the radar of many Green Bay Packers fans entering the 2020 training camp program. But this year, in what is a very crowded wide receiver room, we haven’t heard much about him this summer–well, that was until Thursday’s practice.

Being in attendance at that practice, it was quite clear that Begelton was Jordan Love’s favorite target on the second-team offense. I wish I had counted how many targets Begelton had, but I feel confident in saying that it was easily over five.

Whether that be due to Begelton being the first read, the trust Love has in him, a combination of the two, or some other factor, Begelton had the opportunity to showcase some of his abilities–and he did not disappoint. The play of the day, in my opinion, was when Love fit in a pass to Begelton along the sidelines between two defenders. He also consistently won his one-on-one reps as well.

However, we also saw Love perhaps too locked in on Begelton during the two-minute drill, as he tried to squeeze in a pass to him over the middle, but it was intercepted by Christian Uphoff. But overall, we saw those reliable hands from Begelton that he had put on display during his CFL days.

In January of 2020, the Green Bay Packers signed Begelton to a futures deal for the upcoming NFL season after he had a monster year in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders. During that 17 game season, Begelton tallied a whopping 102 receptions, and perhaps even more impressive was that he caught 71 percent of his total targets. Begelton ended with 1,444 receiver yards, with 519 of those yards coming after the catch and 10 touchdowns.

With the Green Bay Packers, Begelton would spend a majority of the 2020 season on the practice squad but did see four total snaps Week 4 against Atlanta–two of which came on special teams and two with the offense. He was not targeted during that game, according to PFF ($$).

As I mentioned above, this is a crowded wide receiver room with five roster spots already accounted for by Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Randall Cobb, and Amari Rodgers. If Green Bay keeps five receivers as they did in 2020, then there aren’t any spots up for grabs.

On the flip side, if Matt LaFleur does decide to keep six, many of us assume that the sixth roster spot will come down to Devin Funchess, Juwann Winfree, Equanimeous St. Brown, or Malik Taylor–although maybe Begelton should be mentioned among this group as well. And if he continues playing at this level, he certainly will be. It’s also going to be critical for Begelton to perform on special teams as well.

With that said, at this point, odds are that if Begelton does make this team, it will be as a practice squad player once again. But as we look ahead to 2022, there could be an opportunity for him. At this moment, Rodgers and Chris Blair are the only receivers under contract next season.

Sure, Allen Lazard will likely be back as a restricted free agent, and we don’t know what the future holds for Valdes-Scantling or Adams, but either way, addressing the receiver position is going to be at the top of the to-do list next offseason. And for Begelton, who appears to have developed some rapport with Love — who very well could be the starting quarterback in 2022 — that could lead to him carving out a role on this 53-man roster next season.