If you played fantasy football back in the 2000’s, you probably remember the rule about the third-year wide receiver. While there were outliers that contributed earlier, most receivers broke out in their third season, giving fantasy GMs the intel to find their next gem and bragging rights over their league mates.
In recent years, the third-year breakout has gone by the wayside. Receivers are bigger, faster, and stronger than they were 20 years ago, and a lot of them have a small window to prove they belong in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers' receiver room is no different as they have plenty of young talent but not enough room to keep them on the 53-man roster.
It puts everyone in the pass-catching group on notice and a third-year receiver on thin ice as the battle in the wide receiver room rages on.
Packers WR Malik Heath Has One Month to Keep His Job
While the Packers have plenty of talent at the receiver position, Malik Heath may be the odd man out. The third-year product out of Ole Miss has won camp competitions in each of the past two seasons to make the roster, but it feels like he’ll be looking to avoid getting cut as training camp has rolled on.
Heath has put up modest production through his first two seasons, as his playing time was determined by what happened in front of him. He caught 15 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in his rookie season and followed it up with 10 catches for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns last year. He also played 26 snaps in the Packers’ playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last January. But Jordan Love missed him on all three targets, including a pass that was intercepted by Zack Baun.
After head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Heath had run the wrong route on the play, the 25-year-old admitted that the main goal of this year’s camp was to keep getting better.
“[I’m] trying to grow on the stuff I did my rookie year and in my second year,” Heath said via ESPN’s La Crosse’s Paul Bretl. “Just trying to hone in a little bit more on the details and stuff like that. I won’t be the reason the play doesn’t work.”
While Heath has the correct mindset and hauled in a touchdown pass from Malik Willis during the Packers’ family night practice on Saturday, the numbers game is what should have him concerned heading into the preseason.
The Packers invested a first-round pick at the receiver for the first time since 2002, when they selected Matthew Golden last April. They doubled down when they took Savion Williams in the third round. Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks have also shown flashes during their careers, and Heath may be playing for a job.
While the Packers have gotten creative to solve the log jam, Heath doesn’t appear to have an escape plan. He’ll need to come through with a big August in order to keep his job or risk spending the year on the practice squad or on another team’s roster.