These Receiver Prospects Might Not Be on Packers’ Draft Board

With only two receivers under contract beyond the upcoming season, the Green Bay Packers might be looking for reinforcements in the 2026 NFL Draft.

General manager Brian Gutekunst has drafted 12 receivers. Using that history as a guide, here’s a look at which receivers might not be on Green Bay’s draft board and which might be the best fits.

The 40

If the Kentucky Derby is the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, the 40-yard dash is the most exciting 4 1/2 seconds in the predraft process. You don’t have to be fast to be a good NFL receiver, though it helps.

The historic Scouting Combine average is 4.497 seconds. Of Gutekunst’s picks, eight were faster: Matthew Golden (4.29), Christian Watson (4.36), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (4.37), Jayden Reed (4.45), Romeo Doubs (4.47 at his pro day, according to Gutekunst), and Savion Williams, Samori Toure and Equanimeous St. Brown (all 4.48), though only Golden, Watson and MVS were considerably faster.

Four were slower: Dontayvion Wicks (4.62 at the Combine; 4.58 at pro day), J’Mon Moore (4.60 at the Combine; 4.49 at pro day), Grant DuBose (4.57) and Amari Rodgers (4.52).

Looking at this year’s class and using Wicks’ time as a benchmark, most of the draft-worthy receivers will be deemed fast enough. Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields (4.61), Boston College’s Lewis Bond (4.59) and John Carroll’s Tyren Montgomery (4.59) were slower than Wicks’ 4.58.

Notre Dame wide receiver Malachi Fields flips through the air after scoring a touchdown against Purdue. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Height

Gutekunst’s mentor, Ted Thompson, drafted 18 receivers. At 5-foot-10 1/4, 2011 second-round pick Randall Cobb was almost a full inch shorter than any other receiver drafted by Thompson (Greg Jennings was 5-foot-11 1/8).

Gutekunst smashed the mold when he took Amari Rodgers in the third round in 2021. Rodgers was short (5-foot-9 1/2) but he wasn’t small (212 pounds), as Gutekunst noted at the time. He also wasn’t good, a fact that might make Gutekunst reluctant to break the mold again.

Gutekunst drafted Golden (5-foot-11) in the first round in 2025 and Jayden Reed (5-foot-10 7/8) in the second round in 2023. Having parted ways with Romeo Doubs (6-foot-1 7/8) and Dontayvion Wicks (6-foot-1 3/8) this offseason, the Packers presumably will be looking for a bigger receiver.

Georgia’s Zacharian Branch (5-8 5/8), Mississippi State’s Brenen Thompson (5-9 3/8), Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen (5-9 3/8) and Oklahoma’s Deion Burks (5-9 3/4) are receivers who are shorter than Cobb.

Weight

Gutekunst and Thompson have combined to draft 30 receivers over the last two decades. At 187 pounds, Jayden Reed is the lightest of the bunch.

Receivers who are lighter than 185 pounds are Mississippi State’s Thompson (164), Georgia’s Branch (177), LSU’s Barion Brown (177), Missouri’s Kevin Coleman Jr. (178), Oklahoma’s Burks (180), Wisconsin’s Vinny Anthony (181) and Cincinnati’s Cyrus Allen (183).

Hands

East Carolina Pirates wide receiver Anthony Smith (9) makes a touchdown catch against Army. | James Guillory-Imagn Images

Of Gutekunst’s 12 picks, nine had hands of at least 9 1/2 inches, with the smallest belonging to Jayden Reed (9 1/8). No Gutekunst-Thompson receiver had hands smaller than 9 inches.

Receivers with hands smaller than 9 inches include Iowa’s Wetjen (8 1/2), Oregon’s Malik Benson (8 7/8), Mississippi’s Harrison Wallace III (8 7/8) and East Carolina’s Anthony Smith (8 7/8). Smith, who will be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent, had a predraft visit.

It’s worth noting that Gutekunst has drafted five receivers with hands of at least 10 inches, including Savion Williams (10 1/4) last year.

Vertical Jump

This is a drill that feels like it should matter but it does not. The Combine average is a hair over 35.5 inches. Of the nine receivers drafted by Gutekunst who did the vertical, only three beat 35 inches.

Relative Athletic Score

Relative Athletic Score takes all of a player’s measurables and places them on a 0-to-10 scale relative to other players at the position. It’s a great way to create an apples-to-apples comparison between disparate receivers such as last year’s duo of Matthew Golden and Savion Williams.

The RAS for Gutekunst’s picks: Watson (9.96), St. Brown (9.85), Valdes-Scantling (9.26), Wicks (9.17), DuBose (8.79), Moore (8.43), Reed (6.74), Toure (6.14) and Rodgers (5.35). Because of the lack of testing numbers, Golden, Williams and Doubs did not have a RAS. The mediocre numbers for Reed and Rodgers are mostly due to being undersized.

It’s a short list of draft-worthy prospects with a RAS of 6.05 or less: Oregon’s Benson, Mississippi’s Wallace, Iowa’s Wetjen (all 6.05), Boston College’s Bond (5.82) and LSU’s Brown (4.83).

The Best Fits at Receiver

This is not a complete list of receivers who probably are on the Packers’ draft board but, based purely on measurables, these players seem like especially strong fits for this year. They are listed in order of Relative Athletic Score. Of note, Gutekunst has drafted eight receivers who were at least 6-foot-1. All of them weighed more than 200 pounds.

(First-round prospects are not included on this list.)

Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Jeff Caldwell (9) makes a catch for a touchdown against the UCF Knights. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Jeff Caldwell, Cincinnati: Height and weight: 6-foot-5 3/8, 216 pounds. 40: 4.31. Hands: 9 3/4. RAS: 9.99.

J. Michael Sturdivant, Florida: Height and weight: 6-foot-2 7/8, 207 pounds. 40: 4.40. Hands: 9 1/2. RAS: 9.96.

Bryce Lance, North Dakota State: Height and weight: 6-foot-3 3/8, 204, pounds. 40: 4.34. Hands: 9 3/8. RAS: 9.95.

Ted Hurst, Georgia State: Height and weight: 6-foot-3 7/8, 206 pounds. 40: 4.42. Hands: 9 3/4. RAS: 9.90.

De’Zhaun Stribling, Mississippi: Height and weight: 6-foot-2 1/4, 207 pounds. 40: 4.36. Hands: 10. RAS: 9.57.

Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech: Height and weight: 6-foot-3 3/4, 206 pounds. 40: 4.39. Hands: 10 1/8. RAS: 9.50.

Ja’Kobi Lane, USC: Height and weight: 6-foot-4 3/8, 200 pounds. 40: 4.47. Hands: 10 1/2. RAS: 9.39.

Germie Bernard, Alabama: Height and weight: 6-foot-1 1/4, 206 pounds. 40: 4.48. Hands: 9 7/8. RAS: 9.06.

Colbie Young, Georgia: Height and weight: 6-foot-4 3/4, 218 pounds. 40: 4.49. Hands: 9 1/2. RAS: 9.01.

Chase Roberts, BYU: Height and weight: 6-foot-3 1/4, 204 pounds. 40: 4.56. Hands: 9 3/4. RAS: 7.83.

Elijah Sarratt, Indiana: Height and weight: 6-foot-2 1/2, 207 pounds. 40: 4.53. Hands: 10. RAS: 6.30.

Josh Cameron, Baylor: Height and weight: 6-foot-1 1/2, 220 pounds. 40: DNP. Hands: 10 1/4. RAS: None.

Chris Bell, Louisville: Height and weight: 6-foot-1 7/8, 222 pounds. 40: DNP. Hands: 10. RAS: None.

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