3 More Roster Moves the Packers Should Make Before the NFL Draft

2. Trade for Brandon Aiyuk or Tee Higgins

As good as the Packers were at the end of the 2023 season, they were still leaning on several young wideouts. Their top five pass-catchers last year were Jayden Reed (23 years old), Romeo Doubs (23 years old), Dontayvion Wicks (22 years old), Luke Musgrave (23 years old), and Tucker Kraft (23 years old).

Reed was a second-round pick who was sensational as a rookie with 793 yards and eight touchdowns. Doubs was a fourth-round selection in 2022 who has put up consecutive impressive seasons. He also had eight touchdowns this year with 674 yards. The others are also new to the league with Musgrave being selected in the second round, Kraft in the third, and Wicks in the fifth this past year.

Noticeably absent from that list is Christian Watson.

Taken 34th overall in 2022, Watson showed flashes as a rookie with 611 yards and seven touchdowns. However, he did that in spurts with three touchdowns coming in one game against the Dallas Cowboys and another two in the following week against Tennessee.

Watson scored two more touchdowns in the following two weeks, giving him all seven scored and the majority of his yardage in a four-game stretch. In year two, he had 422 yards on 28 receptions with five touchdowns. Watson scored four of his touchdowns in three weeks, proving again to be a streaky player. He also struggled with health, missing three games to start the season and the final five.

All of that is said to point out the need for a true No. 1 wideout. The Packers have plenty of decent options but they need that one guy who defenses fear. That's why they should trade one of their earlier draft picks to land Brandon Aiyuk or Tee Higgins.

Either one would take the offense to the next level while allowing Jordan Love to progress as a franchise quarterback.

1. Extend Jordan Love

There's no getting around it. If an NFL franchise has a starting-caliber quarterback, they're going to pay through the teeth to retain that signal-caller.

Salaries across the league have skyrocketed in recent years but none have seen the increase that this position has. Entering the 2024 season, there are 12 quarterbacks with an average salary of $40 million or more per year, and four with an average above $50 million. Six of them have contracts with a total value of at least $230 million — and every time one gets signed, the number only increases.

That's why the Packers need to extend Jordan Love now, rather than later.

Love is entering the final year of his contract and is set to make more than $12.7 million. He's also fresh off a fantastic campaign that saw him throw for 4,159 yards with a 32-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Throw in the fact that he led them on a second-half surge and won a road playoff game and he's already proven he can take them where they want to go.

His resume is already better than that of Daniel Jones — who is making $40 million — and Kyler Murray — who is making $46.1 million. Allowing him to add to the resume will only make it more expensive down the road, so the Packers should bite the bullet and sign the deal now.

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