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Who’s Left at Receiver After Packers Extend Draft Streak to 20 Years?

The top receivers went off the board quickly, so Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst looked elsewhere. Can he afford to be so patient on Friday?
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – From 2003 through 2022, the NFL has conducted 20 drafts. Exactly 80 receivers were taken during the first rounds of those drafts.

None by the Green Bay Packers.

An incredible streak continued on Thursday night. A breathtaking run took the top four receivers off the board by No. 12, the top five by No. 16 and the top six by No. 18. The receiver-needy Packers could have taken Georgia’s George Pickens at No. 22 but took his teammate, linebacker Quay Walker. The Packers could have taken Pickens at No. 28 but took his teammate, defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt.

As the receivers flew off the board, including Detroit shipping three picks to rival Minnesota to get Alabama’s Jameson Williams, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he “explored” some options. Ultimately, he figured his best option was to keep his picks and bolster other positions.

“They’re really good players,” Gutekunst said of the receivers who were picked. “At the same time, I think you’ve got to look at the asking price and does that make sense? Our board was strong from a numbers perspective, so we decided to stay and pick.”

With a straight face, Gutekunst said the Packers didn’t necessarily need to take a receiver with their second- and third-round picks on Friday.

“I don’t think we have to,” he said. “I think there’s some really good receivers left in this draft and we’ll see how it plays out. We have nine picks left, so we’ve got a lot of ammunition. Whether we stick and pick or move around, we’ll kind of see how that goes. But I don't feel we have to do that. I like our football team.”

That’s nonsense, of course. Now that Atlanta took Drake London at No. 8 overall, the Packers might have the worst receiver corps in the NFL. It’s hard to win a championship being the worst at anything.

The Packers own three picks on Friday – No. 53 and No. 59 of the second round and No. 92 of the third round. Second round, of course, has been the receiver sweet spot for Green Bay with Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. But with six prospects off the board and 20 picks to be made before Gutekunst is on the clock, it might be slim pickings in terms of finding a receiver who can move the needle for a championship-contending team as a rookie.

Who’s left? Pickens, South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert and North Dakota State’s Christian Watson are the best of the rest. Pickens and Tolbert are the receivers most likely to provide immediate help; Watson’s got the highest ceiling but might be the furthest from contributing anything beyond the occasional deep route. In theory, Gutekunst could package No. 53 and No. 92 and get up to about No. 40.

Rodgers has never gone into a season without an established, big-time receiver. He won’t have that luxury in 2022, and he might not have a big-time rookie, either.

“I think having weapons for him to go to is important,” Gutekunst said. “We play in September, and we’ve got nine picks the next couple days and a whole summer before we get to that first game. So, I think certainly by the time we get to that first game, we’re going to add some one way or another to that room. Hopefully, it’ll fall right for us the next two days but, if it doesn’t, I don’t think we can reach and make bad decisions just because they’ve got a WR by their name.”

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