With Jayden Reed Inactive, Key Role for Dontayvion Wicks vs. Panthers

Impressive second-round draft pick Jayden Reed might be inactive for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. That would thrust Dontayvion Wicks into a spotlight role.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The way he’s routinely gotten open, caught the ball and made something happen after the catch, it’s fair to wonder if Dontayvion Wicks will emerge as the No. 1 receiver in Green Bay’s young-and-talented depth chart.

We could get a hint on Sunday.

The team’s big-play receiver, Christian Watson, is set to miss a third consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Making matters worse, the team’s record-chasing rookie, Jayden Reed, is inactive due to a toe injury that’s compounded other bumps and bruises.

Thus, Wicks will be thrust from a complementary role into a featured role against the Carolina Panthers.

Wicks is one of the team’s ascending young players. In last week’s loss to Tampa Bay, Wicks set career highs for playing time (78.3 percent; his first game over two-thirds of the snaps), receptions (six) and yards (97).

Based on a prodigious junior season at Virginia, there were high hopes surrounding Wicks. However, he plunged into the fifth round of the draft following a dismal senior season that was filled with drops and impacted by an offseason coaching change.

“Anytime you get a mid-round-to-later pick that comes in and ends up playing significant football for you, especially as a rookie, that’s pretty significant. That’s a really good pick,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “What he’s been able to do has been awesome for us. We needed that, considering the experience that we had in the wide receiver room.”

Wicks was the 19th receiver selected in this year’s draft. He ranks in the draft class 11th with 31 receptions and ninth with 490 yards. He entered this week’s games with as many receptions as the Chargers’ first-round pick, Quentin Johnston, and considerably more than a handful of receivers taken in the first three rounds.

“I just came into this season thinking like I wanted to do whatever I can with the opportunities I got,” he said this week. “And I felt like I’ve done a straight job with what I’ve received this far in the season. We’ve got three more games left, more opportunities, so I want to keep that going.”

The Packers will need him to keep that going if they’re going to break a two-game losing streak. Without Watson and Reed, the Packers will have only Romeo Doubs, Wicks, Malik Heath, Samori Toure and Bo Melton at receiver.

Sharp Rookie Chases Sharpe’s Record

Reed is first on the team with 54 receptions for 592 yards and second with six touchdown receptions. Watson is fourth on the team with 422 receiving yards and third with five touchdowns. That’s a lot of production.

While Doubs has 52 receptions for 567 yards and seven touchdowns, Heath has 10 catches, Toure has seven and Melton has one.

“We needed some of these guys to step up and they have, so it’s been fun to watch,” Stenavich said. “All these guys, Wicks, Reed, Malik Heath, all those guys have just done a great job just coming in [as rookies]. There’s been a lot of adversity, a lot of things they’ve had to overcome, but they’re making a lot of progress and that room is coming along really nicely.”

Carolina’s underrated defense boasts impressive cornerback Jaycee Horn, the eighth pick of the 2021 NFL draft. He missed most of this season due to injury but has allowed seven completions for just 47 yards the last two weeks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Before the game against the Giants two weeks ago, coach Matt LaFleur told ESPN commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman that Wicks reminds him a bit of All-Pro Davante Adams. Wicks said he learned of those comments from, among others, Jaire Alexander.

“It’s a good thing, but I want to make my own name,” Wicks said. “That’s the big thing for me, just making my own name. It’s a great thing to be compared and put in the same sentence as Davante, because I looked up to him coming out of college.”

Wicks’ position coach at Virginia, Marques Hagans, had each of his players study two receivers. For Wicks, it was Adams and Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase.

“Coming into the league, I already knew a lot about him and I’d already watched him a lot,” Wicks said. “We both played basketball, we’ve got a lot of the same movements, releases, like to create separation on the release, so I figure watching him would help me a lot more coming into the league as a first-year rookie, going against vet DBs.”

The basketball history was quickly noted by receivers coach and passing game coordinator Jason Vrable when he was doing his pre-draft scouting.

“I Google a guy to get a better feel and we have our profile from the scouting department, but I saw a basketball highlight of him and I was like, ‘Oh, man,’” Vrable said. “This kid’s dunking and a dunk contest and alley-oops and crossing guys over and I started to see he was being recruited for basketball.”

Adams also was recruited in basketball before a dominant career at Fresno State.

“Some of those guys who have the basketball player background first, that’s the crossover ability that you see to win on a release (and) at 5 yards going out and then going in,” he continued. “I think their backgrounds of what they’ve trained their body their whole life might give them a step up on people when they come into the league. That’s probably what you’re seeing in him within those short-area spaces and quickness.

“I saw it in the spring, I saw it on his college tape, so it’s always been there. His mindset and his work ethic and character is going to get him to where he wants to go because he definitely has shown at times his ability, and it’s been a pleasure to work with.”

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