We know that, in general, the Green Bay Packers have to add to their wide receiver room during this year’s draft and do so somewhat early on. It also wouldn’t hurt spending multiple picks on the position either.
The Packers are in need of more consistent playmaking at this position, which, in part, should come from Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs each taking a step forward in their second seasons. On top of that, Green Bay simply needs more players. As of now, there are only five receivers on the roster, with just three of them having some sort of NFL experience. In fact, Doubs is currently the most experienced receiver on the team in terms of snaps played, with 529.
To take this one step further, Green Bay could benefit from adding another downfield target to this position group, which would help create better spacing underneath for Watson and Doubs as each takes on greater route-running responsibilities, something Matt LaFleur talked about recently. Another specific role that the Packers could look to fill is adding a slot presence to this offense as well.
There are really two ways that Green Bay can go about filling this need. They can either take the best receiver available, regardless of the amount of slot experience that prospect has and rotate slot duties with Doubs and Watson based on the matchup or play design. In 2022, Doubs played about 22% of his snaps from the slot, while Watson lined up inside 32% of the time and was one of the more efficient slot targets in football. According to PFF, his 2.29 yards per route run from the slot ranked 15th among all receivers last season.
However, the other alternative is that the Packers could have a more defined role for the slot target and draft someone who has experience lining up inside. This is how they’ve approached the position the last few seasons, by trading for Randall Cobb and trading up for Amari Rodgers in the 2021 NFL Draft.
One of the more challenging aspects for the Packers when trying to fill this role is that Green Bay has been fairly strict with the height and weight thresholds that they look for at receiver. Going back to when Ted Thompson was GM, the Packers have often coveted receivers who are at least 6’0″ and weigh 195-plus pounds, and oftentimes, slot receivers are smaller in frame. Now, as always, there have been exceptions, but for the most part, this rule has held true.
So as you can imagine, this shrinks the pool of players that the Packers have to choose from if they are going to adhere to those thresholds, and many of the top slot options in this draft class may not rank highly on Green Bay’s big board.
Brennen Rupp of Packers Wire provided several slot options for the Packers, and we can break them up into two categories. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Parker Washington are the two prospects with ample slot experience who also meet the Packers’ heigh-weight thresholds. Rakim Jarrett is another who falls just outside the 195-pound weight mark.
The other category of prospects are receivers who meet the measurement thresholds but have more boundary experience, although they could still end up as effective slot targets. This group includes Xavier Hutchinson, Rashee Rice, and Puka Nacua. Two other prospects that Rupp mentioned could be on Green Bay’s radar are Jayden Reed and Jalin Hyatt – both below those height and weight marks.
Having a “true” slot receiver in the Matt LaFleur offense isn’t considered a must, where versatility and the ability to move around the formation are coveted at the receiver position. With that said, a dynamic slot presence can create mismatches and can help spread out the defense, generating opportunities for others within the offense. The Packers will want this element in 2023, but how they go about trying to fill it remains to be seen.
