From Early to Late, Seven Packers Prospects to Replace Dontayvion Wicks

The Green Bay Packers took two receivers in the first three rounds of last year’s NFL Draft. Could they be in the market to add another in this year’s class?

Before Friday’s trade of Dontayvion Wicks, that seemed like a difficult preposition. Before Wicks was traded to the Eagles, the Packers had seven receivers on their roster who felt like good bets to make the team out of training camp.

Wicks, along with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, Skyy Moore and multitasking Bo Melton had roles on the team if you were looking into the immediate future.

Despite that, the Packers had a future need at receiver. Watson, Reed, Wicks, Moore are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Melton, who bounced between offense and defense last season and primarily has made the team due to his special teams value, will be a restricted free agent.

If the Packers kept all of their receivers from 2025 plus Moore, it would have been difficult to draft someone in this year’s class.

Those points are all moot now. The trade of Wicks makes it likely that they’ll want to add a receiver in this year’s class.

Here is a look at some prospects they could look to add.

Round 2

Germie Bernard, Alabama

Germie Bernard bounced around the college ranks. He opened his career at Michigan State in 2022, when he played alongside Reed. He spent one year at Washington, where helped an offense led by Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr. reach the national championship game. After the 2023 season, he followed coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama.

Bernard would ascend from a role player into a star for the Crimson Tide, leading the team in receptions as both a junior and a senior. In 2025, he caught 64 passes for 862 yards and seven touchdowns.

Alabama receiver Germie Bernard (5) makes a catch over Oklahoma's Gentry Williams (9) during the College Football Playoff. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He fits Green Bay’s size preferences at 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds. Green Bay has made some exceptions to those preferences with Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. If the Packers add a receiver this year, it’s likely they’ll prioritize size again. Between Golden and Reed, the Packers will have at least one smaller receiver under contract for the foreseeable future.

Watson is in line for a contract extension, but that is not completed yet. Matt LaFleur’s offense requires receivers to block on the edge to help spring his run game. Bernard would fit from that standpoint.

He has plenty of experience, as well, as a four-year college player. His teammates at Alabama referred to Bernard as, “Uncle Germ” due to his experience, which helped him grow into leadership roles for the Crimson Tide.

“When you're growing into a leader, you have to be more vocalized,” Bernard said to Alabama on SI. “Being more vocalized, letting people know what I've went through with my experience, they're going to go through a lot of things I went through. I can help talk them through it."

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Bernard graded as a second-round pick. The Packers would likely have to use their first pick to get him.

De’Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss

De’Zhaun Stribling is another player with plenty of experience as a five-year college player. After two seasons at Washington State and two more at Oklahoma State, he finished his college career at Ole Miss. He caught a career-high 55 passes, just missed his career high with 811 yards and matched his career high with six touchdowns. He was only charged with one drop.

Stribling saved his best for last. When the lights were on, he shined the brightest, averaging 92.7 receiving yards in the College Football Playoff.

Brugler described Stribling as a big-bodied receiver, with great hands and a pro mindset. He does need some work at refining his route running, but has the work ethic to do so. At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds with 4.36 speed, he fits the Green Bay mold.

“He’s got that Hawaii chill, kind of quiet. But trains like he’s a Marine. … Priorities are in order,” an NFL Scout told Brugler for “The Beast.”

Brugler has Stribling ranked between the second and third rounds. Could the Packers take him 52nd overall? Could they move down the board a little and still try to secure him? That remains to be seen, but Stribling’s strong finish to the season has him firmly on the Day 2 radar.

Chris Brazzell, Tennessee

The Packers have had two receivers projected to be drafted on Day 2 of the draft on “30” visits. One is Ted Hurst from Georgia State. The other will be Tennessee’s Chris Brazzell.

The Packers will be hosting a premier receiver with NFL genes on a 30 visit. ⬇️https://t.co/WGnUUO09cg
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) April 13, 2026

Brazzell has elite size and speed that had him ranked among the top 50 prospects for Brugler and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah in their early rankings.

Brazzell’s speed is what’s going to make him tantalizing to NFL front offices, but his college coach thinks there’s more to his game than just the ability to run fast.

“I don’t think that there’s just one standout trait,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said at pro day. “His length is a great attribute. He’s got speed that’s rare at that size, and then his ability to be extremely loose, to sink and get out of cuts, his catch radius over the middle of the field or a deep ball down the sideline. He’s got some unique physical traits, and put that with his playmaking ability, those are hard to find.”

At 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds, the Packers would likely love to pair Brazzell long term with Christian Watson and have speed all over the field.

In The Beast, Brugler has him as the No. 96 prospect. However, he is No. 54 on the Consensus Big Board. That’s Green Bay’s pick in the second round.

Round 3

Bryce Lance, North Dakota State

The Packers have looked in Fargo, N.D., when they needed a wide receiver in the past. Following the trade of Davante Addams, they made a big trade up the board in 2022 to go get Watson. Could they look there again with the team needing a long-term option at receiver?

Bryce Lance, the brother of NFL quarterback Trey Lance, could certainly be an option.

Lance did not start a game and only caught one pass in his first three seasons in Fargo. He broke out in a big way in his final two years, though, including back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and a school-record 17 touchdowns in 2024.

North Dakota State wideout Bryce Lance catches a pass at the Scouting Combine. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Lance passed on some big NIL offers to go to bigger schools to return to the Bison for one more year. He averaged 21.16 yards per reception in 2025. At 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds with 4.34 speed, he’s got elite tools.

“Comes from an A-plus family. … He’ll maximize every ounce of his football talent,” a scout told Brugler.

There may be a bit of a learning curve with Lance making the jump from FCS to the pro level, but the Packers have not shied away from that in the past. Lance is No. 90 for Brugler and No. 91 on the Consensus Big Board, which means he could be on the board for the Packers in the third round.

Ted Hurst, Georgia State

Ted Hurst is a player who checks a lot of boxes that the Packers have valued recently. He played in the Senior Bowl, fits the Packers’ preferred size-speed model, and was one of Green Bay’s “30” visits in late March.

He was on the radar of NFL teams early in the season, as he made Bruce Feldman’s annual “Feldman’s Freaks” list. He measured 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.42.

9.90 RAS.
A sneaky need.
A Freaks List selection.

“I feel like when the ball is 50-50, it’s mine.”@JacobWestendorf has the story on the first (known) Packers draft visit. ⬇️https://t.co/gUTk8EjmAG
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 26, 2026

Hurst is from a smaller school but had big-time production. After catching 56 passes for 961 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024, he had 71 catches for 1,004 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. He had four 100-yard games in 2025; in 2024, he torched Vanderbilt for seven catches, 128 yards and two touchdowns.

“Ted Hurst is a big-bodied playmaker with legitimate size to thrive on the boundary,” Justin Melo of NFL Draft on SI told Packers on SI. “The small-school receiver thrived at both the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, providing he's a top-75 prospect during this process.”

The Packers have had plenty of success with smaller-school receivers. Greg Jennings, Davante Adams, James Jones and Watson, for example, did not play in traditional power conferences like the Big Ten or SEC.

Hurst is listed as the No. 76 prospect by Brugler and is No. 79 on the Consensus Big Board. If the Packers want him, they might have to trade up.

Day 3

Josh Cameron, Baylor

If the Packers wait until the third day of the draft to take a receiver, that player could find himself in a position where his role is incredibly uncertain. Even to the point where that player may not make the team out of training camp.

Any Day 3 pick would have to be a perfect fit from Green Bay’s model in addition to having a role other than as a receiver.

Enter Baylor’s Josh Cameron.

At 6-foot-1 1/2 and 220 pounds, Cameron fits the Packers’ typical model for the size they prefer at receiver. His best asset as a rookie could be his ability to return punts. Cameron averaged 20.7 yards per return in 2024 and ripped off a 70-yard return in 2023.

While the Packers do have Skyy Moore, and he’s likely to make the roster in 2026, he’s only signed for one year. Injuries also happen, and the Packers don’t have much in the name of insurance in the return game. That would give Cameron a shot to learn the ropes at receiver, while waiting for his chance to impact the team in the return game.

Anthony Smith, East Carolina

Anthony Smith is another size-speed threat at 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds with 4.40 speed in the 40. As a sixth-year senior, he caught 64 passes for 1,053 yards and seven touchdowns for the Pirates.

Smith had two long touchdowns en route to winning MVP honors of the Military Bowl but wanted to prove he was more than just a one-trick pony.

The Packers will host Anthony Smith on a predraft visit, as reported by @TomSilverstein. He used his speed to make a lot of big plays the last two seasons. Here's his story. ⬇️https://t.co/WZcusjWf3m
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) April 6, 2026

“I just wanted to prove I could do it all,” Smith said after his pro day, when he posted a 9.20 Relative Athletic Score.

“I’m not just like a deep ball guy. That’s something that’s always been on my mind. My mental is making sure everybody knows that, yeah, I can run deep, but that’s not the only thing I can do. I can catch the ball. I can run across the middle. I can get out my cuts.”

Smith would likely have a chance to develop as a receiver in his rookie season before trying to grow into a regular contributor once the Packers solve their logjam at receiver next offseason.

Smith does not have experience in the return game, but his speed could be something that tempts the Packers to at least give him a chance in that phase of the game.

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