The Green Bay Packers' wide receiver room has been a hot topic during the Jordan Love era. Despite the front office and Matt LaFleur's insistence that the Packers don't need a WR1, they went out and selected two receivers with their first picks of the draft. The integration of Matthew Golden and Savion Williams into the offense, coupled with injuries to Jayden Reed and Christian Watson, required the Packers to reinvent their passing game.
This resulted in changes in the pecking order in the WR room from week to week. While the Packers offense continues to be egalitarian, with no playmaker dominating the targets, it was Romeo Doubs who made the most of them in Week 4, finishing with six catches and three touchdowns. For the season, however, Doubs, Golden, and Dontayvion Wicks have similarly large roles on offense since Reed went down.
Dontayvion Wicks Could Be the Odd Man Out in Packers' WR Room
Yet, once Reed and Watson return, and along with Williams being more integrated into the offense, one WR has to be the odd man out. With how things are looking right now, that name could be Wicks.
Even though there may not be a go-to WR1 on the roster, the Packers have an embarrassment of riches in the receiver rotation. With Doubs needing a new deal at the end of the season, and Watson, Reed, and Wicks all becoming unrestricted free agents after the 2026 season, the need for a trade is obvious. The Packers are about to face salary cap challenges soon, and paying all of these receivers makes very little sense. The allocation of resources needs to be better, and trading one of the WRs before having to pay him, for draft capital or a player who fills a more pressing need, should be a priority for GM Brian Gutekunst.
Wicks is a solid player, and he has been a good developmental success story for the Packers since he was drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Yet, he has had consistency issues and struggled with drops early in his career. He also doesn't have the big-play ability or the upside of Doubs, making him slightly more expendable than his counterpart. Wicks has intriguing versatility, with his ability to play inside the slot, but he hasn't made the most of his increased snaps in recent weeks, putting up four catches for 40 yards over the last two weeks.
To balance out the roster for the rest of the season, the Packers should consider moving him sooner rather than later. Getting pushed down to a WR5 role upon Watson and Reed's return will only reduce Wicks' trade value, highlighting the importance of acting with urgency. Whether the Packers front office sees it the same way remains to be seen.