The Green Bay Packers haven’t taken a wide receiver in the first round since they selected Javon Walker with the No. 20 pick in the 2002 draft. Brett Favre was the starting quarterback of that Packers team.
Walker went on to earn a Pro Bowl appearance in 2004 and finished his seven-year career with 267 receptions for 4,011 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Green Bay needs a wide receiver this offseason, especially with Christian Watson rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 18.
Green Bay Packers are showing interesting WRs
Matt Schneidman of The Athletic is reporting that the Packers are showing legitimate interest in bucking their trend of waiting to draft a wide receiver. There are four wide receivers that Green Bay could take next week.
“The Packers seem interested in drafting a wide receiver in the first round,” Schneidman wrote. “Not only did Gutekunst attend pro days at Ohio State and Texas, likely with an eye on the Buckeyes’ Emeka Egbuka and the Longhorns’ Matthew Golden, but the Packers reportedly brought both players to Green Bay for one of the team’s 30 permitted pre-draft visits.
“ESPN also reported that Gutekunst was the only GM at Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan’s private workout last month. McMillan will likely be the first receiver taken after Colorado’s Travis Hunter, while Egbuka and Golden are projected first-round picks, too. So if the Packers indeed break their 22-year streak, it’ll likely be for one of those three players or Missouri’s Luther Burden III.”
Will Brian Gutekunst change his philosophy?
Last Week’s ESPN’s Matt Miller and Rob Demovsky wrote that they don’t believe the Packers would draft a wide receiver in the first round. General manager Brian Gutekunst argues that it’s hard for a wide receiver to make a huge impact in their rookie season.
Still, that might be the best argument for the Packers to take a receiver in the first round this season. The Packers have serious questions at the position for the long term. They need to think about finding a No. 1 wide receiver with Romeo Doubs and Watson entering 2025 in the final year of their rookie contracts.
