Wide receiver was, of course, the biggest need for the Green Bay Packers to address this offseason once they traded away Davante Adams to Las Vegas.
To help remedy this, they would sign Sammy Watkins in free agency, while in the draft, the Packers would select Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure. But the question still remains, did Green Bay do enough?
Watkins could become a go-to option on the perimeter for Aaron Rodgers, but staying healthy has been an issue over the years. Allen Lazard is a valuable member of this offense, from his blocking ability to the rapport he has built with Rodgers, but he isn’t a true No. 1 target. Randall Cobb was particularly effective last season on third downs, but overall he isn’t the same player that he used to be.
We still don’t exactly know what to expect from Amari Rodgers this season, and the three rookie receivers remain unknowns–hopefully, they make an impact, but how much and how quickly still remains to be seen.
So with these questions lingering and several big-name receivers still available in free agency, do the Green Bay Packers look to make another addition? Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network seems to think that’s in play.
"“This is a great wide receiver market for the Packers, and I think they’re gonna be involved for Jarvis Landry, Julio Jones, and OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr.),” said Rapoport on the Pat McAfee Show."
On paper, signing Jones, Landry, or Beckham Jr. all makes sense for the Green Bay Packers, but there are always other factors to consider, which is why I am a bit skeptical.
Although not the receiver he used to be, Jones could still be a difference-maker in this Packers offense. However, it’s worth noting that he has played in just 19 games the past two seasons, and there’s the very real possibility that he is out of the Packers’ price range.
While Landry would be an upgrade in the slot, from a pure skill-set standpoint, he is a bit similar to that of Cobb and Amari Rodgers. Lastly, Beckham is still working his way back from an ACL injury — his second ACL injury in the last two years — and we don’t know when he will be available. There is the possibility that he could miss a large chunk of the regular season.
On top of all of that, do the Green Bay Packers have room on the roster? I feel fairly confident in saying that as long as Watkins is healthy, he will be on the roster, as will Lazard, Cobb, Rodgers, Watson, and Doubs. That’s already six receivers accounted for — which is typically how many the Packers keep — and this includes Toure heading to the practice squad.
Now, that isn’t to say there aren’t potential upgrades still available, but realistically, who from this group would the Packers be willing to part ways with? Or maybe they decide they want to keep seven receivers instead of the usual six as a way to work around this issue.
From a salary cap perspective, Over the Cap has the Green Bay Packers with $10.8 million in available cap space. However, once you account for the remaining members of the draft class that need to be signed, the 52nd and 53rd players on the roster, the practice squad, as well as having reserves for any in-season spending that needs to take place, Ken Ingalls, who tracks the Packers salary cap situation, projects that Green Bay is actually about $1 million over the salary cap once those additional expenses hit the books.
Although the Packers have exhausted many of their cap-creating moves for the 2021 season, one big one that still remains is an extension for Jaire Alexander. Even with making Alexander the highest-paid cornerback in football, the Packers could still potentially lower his 2022 $13.3 million cap hit by $6 million — and possibly more — according to Ingalls. The Packers could also add voided years to Lazard’s restricted free agent contract just as they did with Robert Tonyan last year.
However, even with both those moves made, I’m still not sure of how much cap space flexibility the Packers would actually have to sign any of the players mentioned above–that is unless they were willing to take a more team-friendly deal.
With that said, if you’re still holding out hope, it’s worth mentioning that there is still plenty of time. As Andy Herman of Packer Report recently pointed out, at this time a year ago, Rasul Doulas, Corey Bojorquez, Dennis Kelly, and De’Vondre Campbell — all major contributors — weren’t even on the team yet.
With the question marks that still remain at receiver, I certainly understand why a free agent addition makes sense, but for the reasons already discussed, I’m not expecting it to happen either. More than likely, it is going to have to be Matt LaFleur’s scheme and Rodgers’ play that is going to have to elevate this wide receiver room.