The Green Bay Packers are one of the most exciting teams in the NFL, at least on paper, as the 2024 season draws near. Starting quarterback Jordan Love has signed a four-year $220 million contract, ensuring that he will be under center for the foreseeable future, continuing Green Bay’s unprecedented decades-long run of franchise quarterbacks.
Over the course of the offseason, the Packers’ front office was hard at work addressing various needs on Green Bay’s roster. They signed free agent Xavier McKinney and used three draft picks on young safeties to completely revamp the position. They also signed Josh Jacobs and released Aaron Jones in a change of premier running backs.
One position that did not get addressed, though, was wide receiver, which surprised many outside of Green Bay.
Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love Do Not Think the Green Bay Packers Need a WR1
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After the 2021 NFL season, the Packers were put in a position where they had to trade All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. Upon trading him to the Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay used three picks in the 2022 NFL Draft to select Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure.
The 2023 NFL offseason also saw the Packers make huge changes at the wide receiver position. They allowed veteran Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb to depart in free agency (both were signed by the New York Jets to keep playing with Aaron Rodgers) and drafted three more young wide receivers: Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Grant DuBose.
And so, Love entered his first year as the Packers’ starting quarterback without a bonified number one wide receiver. However, it did not seem to matter much in the end based on how balanced Green Bay’s passing attack was:
| Player | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns |
| Romeo Doubs | 59 | 674 | 8 |
| Christian Watson | 28 | 422 | 5 |
| Jayden Reed | 64 | 793 | 8 |
| Dontayvion Wicks | 39 | 581 | 4 |
| Malik Heath | 15 | 125 | 1 |
| Bo Melton | 16 | 218 | 1 |
| Luke Musgrave | 34 | 352 | 1 |
| Tucker Kraft | 31 | 355 | 2 |
| Ben Sims | 4 | 21 | 1 |
Reed set the Packers’ franchise record for receptions by a rookie while leading or tying for the lead in every major receiving category.
Over the course of the season, multiple wide receivers stepped up and had big games when needed, especially down the stretch. This led many within the organization to believe that they did not need to go out and sign or trade for a top number one pass catcher.
One of these people is Love himself, who said earlier this offseason:
“I think you don’t have to have a No. 1 receiver. I think it works out well when you can spread the ball out and you got different guys making different plays and you can put ’em in different areas. … I think it puts a lot more stress on the defense and the calls that they can get in, so I think in the long run it helps us not having a No. 1 guy, a true No. 1 guy, but I think all those guys can step up and be the one any given day.”
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is another person who shares this view. Earlier this week, he said that questions about a number one receiver make him “want to vomit.” LaFleur said, “That’s something you guys [the media] talk about. I think we’ve got a lot of them.”
One NFL Analyst Disagrees with Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur
In a recent article posted on Bleacher Report, NFL analyst Brad Gagnon fired back at LaFleur’s comments, writing:
“I understand Matt LaFleur’s frustration over questions regarding the No. 1 receiver void in Green Bay, but his argument that the team has multiple No. 1 receivers is quite a reach. Based on what we’ve seen from each of the wideouts on that roster, there’s a decent chance not a single one of them is No. 1-quality. It is a fair concern on behalf of fans and the media.”
It is really hard to argue that a team needs a bonified number one wide receiver after the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls without one. Last year, not a single Chiefs pass catcher eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards.
So why the focus on Green Bay not having a high-profile name to be their top wide receiver?
