The Green Bay Packers' wide receiver room failed to live up to the hype in 2024. What was supposed to be a breakout year for a young, dynamic group turned into a flat tire on the road to contention.
There was real optimism last offseason. Green Bay had assembled a promising quartet of pass-catchers, each with a different flavor—Christian Watson brought the straight-line speed, Romeo Doubs offered reliability, Jayden Reed showed flashes of explosiveness, and Dontayvion Wicks was the smooth route technician. On paper, it looked like a recipe for success. But when the regular season hit, the ingredients didn’t blend quite right.
Among the disappointments, Wicks stood out—and not in the way the Packers hoped.
A fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Wicks doesn’t struggle to get open. He’s shifty, sudden, and understands how to set up defenders. His violent cuts and route nuance turn defenders inside out. But once he finds daylight and gets the ball thrown his way, things get dicey.
Wicks had just two drops in his rookie season. That number ballooned to nine in Year 2—seventh-most in the NFL. What’s worse is the context: five of the six players ahead of him saw significantly more targets. Wicks had 80 passes come his way. The next closest in the top six had 135.
For Packers fans keeping score, Jayden Reed was also in that group with 10 drops on just 79 targets. That’s not just a red flag—it’s a flare.
Packers Must Be Patient With Dontayvion Wicks
And yet, giving up on Wicks now would be premature. Fans often whisper comparisons to Davante Adams—a surgical route-runner who, once upon a time, had issues with drops before becoming one of the best receivers in football.
It’s a lofty path to project, but Wicks at least has a similar foundation: separation skills, quick feet, and a feel for the game.
The hard part—getting open—isn’t hard for Wicks. It’s the easy part—catching the ball—that’s been his kryptonite. That kind of butterfingers reputation can derail a promising career if not fixed. Drops have haunted him since college, and unless he rewires his approach this offseason, it’ll continue to define him at the pro level.
Whatever he’s been doing in the past to address it isn’t sticking. The Packers need him to shift gears. That could mean everything from tweaking his hand-placement mechanics to laser-focusing on concentration drills.
Wicks was the darling of Packers Twitter last offseason, with fans already penciling him in as the wide receiver of the future. That hype train hit a speed bump, but it hasn’t completely derailed.
He still shows flashes—a sideline toe-tap here, a perfectly timed in-breaker there. And with Jordan Love continuing to mature under center, there’s every reason to believe another year of chemistry could unlock more from Wicks.
The Packers don’t need Wicks to be the next Davante Adams. They just need him to be the best version of himself—and that’s still very much on the table. The skills are there, and so is the opportunity.
In the meantime, patience is the play. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a reliable NFL receiver.