3 Positions Packers Have to Target Early in the 2025 NFL Draft

3. Wide Receiver

This might finally be the year the Packers do the unthinkable—draft a wide receiver in the first round.

It’s been twenty-three years since Green Bay last spent a first-round pick on a receiver. That player was Javon Walker in 2002.

Since then, they’ve preferred to mine talent from the second round, and to be fair, they’ve nailed plenty of those picks. Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams all came from Day 2 and turned into stars.

That strategy made sense for a long time, but things are different now. The Packers need a true game-changer at receiver, and waiting until the second round is a risk they might not be able to take.

Entering 2024, the position looked like a strength. Green Bay had four young, promising wideouts—Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks—all expected to take a leap.

That never happened. Instead, the entire unit stagnated, and the Packers’ offense sputtered as a result.

Watson, the group’s most explosive talent, will now miss part of the 2025 season with a torn ACL. Doubs suffered a serious concussion in the playoffs, and both Reed and Wicks struggled with drops.

To make matters worse, all four of their top receivers are set to hit unrestricted free agency in 2026 or 2027.

This year’s receiver class isn’t particularly deep in the first round, but there should be intriguing options when the Packers are on the clock. If they want to give Jordan Love the best chance to take another step forward, it’s time to invest in a true WR1.

More Green Bay Packers News and Rumors: