The Green Bay Packers, all of a sudden, have a clear threat to steal upcoming free agent Emanuel Wilson within their own division.
The NFC North was shaken up on Monday with the Detroit Lions moving David Montgomery to the Houston Texans. Now, the Lions are going to be searching for a cheap second option, and Wilson unquestionably fits what the franchise is looking for. It doesn't hurt that the Lions are familiar with Wilson, having spent time in the same division and facing the rusher twice each season.
With this in mind, there is a real chance that it will be a former Packer stepping in and helping the Detroit offense not miss a beat without Montgomery. The playmaker had 496 rushing yards in the 2025 season despite playing behind an offensive line that consistently dealt with injuries and questionable starters. This was a year after putting up 502 rushing yards on 4.9 yards per carry. Add in the seven combined rushing touchdowns over the past two years, and it is obvious why the Lions would target Wilson.
Hurting a division rival while being able to fix your own biggest weakness makes a great deal of sense. For Wilson, you're joining an explosive offense that is going to find ways to feed you the football to help keep star back Jahmyr Gibbs rested. For the Packers, this isn't ideal, even if the franchise does clearly need to consider a fresh start at the position.
Current Packers Free Agent Emanuel Wilson Could Soon Join Division Rival
Another piece of the puzzle worth touching on is that Wilson has 30 career receptions and has been underutilized as a target. This isn't due to a flaw in Green Bay's offense, but to a wealth of targets who have established themselves as being far more reliable. For Detroit, this isn't the case as the offense is extremely top-heavy going into the 2026 offseason.
Signing Wilson makes sense and would allow the Lions offense to roll without skipping a beat for an assumably cheap cost. Wilson is such an underrated free agent that even Spotrac lacks a projected market value for the playmaker. Looking at the lack of a resume, it would seem that a $2-3 million deal should be the expectation.
This lines up with what backups like Elijah Mitchell and Ty Johnson garnered last offseason in free agency. Already, Detroit pundits are speculating that Wilson could be the perfect fit for the division rival, adding to what is becoming an increasingly frustrating reality.