Three Players Who Can Help Packers Replace Injured Jayden Reed In Slot

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers lost one of their best players when Jayden Reed sustained a neck injury during the opening series of Sunday’s win over the Jets.

Reed is one of the NFL’s top slot receivers in the NFL. More than just a run-after-catch threat, which is the forte of most slot receivers, he’s a proven downfield threat. Defenses tend to gravitate toward wherever No. 11 is before the snap.

“It’s too early to tell,” coach Matt LaFleur said of whether Reed will return this season.

What we do know is Reed won’t play against the Falcons. As expected, especially on a short week, Reed was ruled out on Wednesday’s injury report and is among the team’s inactives.

How can the Packers replace everything he brings? That’s a key question for an offense that might slant toward the passing game considering its inept rushing attack is facing the best run defense in the league.

Skyy Moore

Skyy Moore is the player-for-player replacement, a natural slot receiver given his small stature (5-foot-9 5/8) but excellent speed (4.41 in the 40 at the 2022 Scouting Combine). That’s how the Packers pivoted last week after Reed went down, with Moore playing 21 snaps and catching two passes.

A second-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022, he caught 22 passes as a rookie and 21 passes in 2023 but zero passes in six games in 2024, five passes in 17 games after being traded to the 49ers in 2025 and 2-of-4 targets for 6 yards with the Packers in 2026.

“I feel great,” quarterback Jordan Love said of Moore on Tuesday. “Since OTAs, training camp, Skyy’s done some great things. With him being out right now, I’m very confident in Skyy. He’s played ball. He’s been on some great teams. I think his feel for the game and understanding the offense, and he has a great feel I think as a route runner for finding the voids in a defense and knowing when to throttle down on certain things

“I think he’ll be great. It’s just a matter of getting him comfortable when he’s out there. Obviously, we see what he can do with the ball in his hands when he had those big returns last week. So, he’s definitely going to be a big playmaker for us.”

Christian Watson

Speaking of big playmakers, there’s 6-foot-4 Christian Watson, who finished second in the NFL with 17.5 yards per catch last season and has upped that to 18.8 yards per catch to start this season.

What makes Watson such a standout is he is ready, willing and able to make plays in the slot. While he’s caught only 2-of-6 targets for 8 yards in the slot this season, he’s been a terror in past seasons. Last year, according to Pro Football Focus, he caught 13-of-19 for 263 yards and four touchdowns when in the slot. Of the 67 receivers who caught at least 10 passes in the slot, Watson was No. 1 with 20.2 yards per catch and No. 2 with 3.55 yards per route.

Among all receivers, no matter the number of catches and targets, Watson tied for fourth with his four slot touchdowns.

He wasn’t quite as prolific in 2024, when he caught 7-of-14 targets in the slot, but averaged a whopping 24.3 yards per catch and scored two touchdowns.

“That’s my brother, for sure,” he said after the New York game of Reed’s injury. “Super-tough to see that, just to see him like that, in that state. I never want to see that for anybody on the field but especially someone that I consider a brother to myself. I spend more time with J-Reed than I do my family. That’s my dawg.”

Jonnu Smith

Another option is veteran tight end Jonnu Smith, who the Packers signed after training camp.

In 2024, when Smith caught 88 passes for the Dolphins, he caught 37-of-46 targets (80.4 percent) for 374 yards and three touchdowns when aligned in the slot. The catch count ranked fifth among tight ends.

“Just my ability, man, my size, obviously, creating a mismatch and using that to my advantage,” he said after signing. “Always been a catch-and-run guy my whole career, taking pride in not going down easily in this league. I think that’s what I hung my hat on. It’s got me here. It’s got me to Year 10 over the years, and I just want to continue to bring that to Green Bay.”

With the Steelers last year, he caught 14-of-21 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns when in the slot. He played 271 snaps of traditional tight end and 163 in the slot.

In his two games with the Packers, he been targeted three times in the passing game – all at Minnesota, when he caught two passes for 50 yards.

The Packers are hoping to set an NFL record tonight.

Will they? Here are our predictions. ⬇️https://t.co/29vOKZW6K2
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 24, 2026

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