Packers Training Camp Preview: Receiver Battles, X-Factor, Game-Changer

GREEN BAY, Wis. – To borrow a phrase from Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ receivers are a beautiful mystery. After last year’s group underachieved, the addition of two draft picks has led to great expectations again.

With the first practice set for July 23, here is our Packers training camp preview of the receivers.

Coming and Going

Six receivers played last season, and they’re all back for 2025. Listed in order of receptions, they are Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Christian Watson, Malik Heath and Bo Melton.

There were three noteworthy additions with first-round pick Matthew Golden, third-round pick Savion Williams and free-agent Mecole Hardman, setting the stage for the must-see battle of training camp.

Biggest Battle: Playing Time

The Packers are loaded with players at receiver. Seven players on the depth chart have significant NFL playing experience, and there are high hopes for rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams. And that’s not even accounting for a darkhorse run at a roster spot by one of the bottom-of-the-depth-chart players, such as returning practice-squad player Cornelius Johnson, who had a strong series of offseason practices.

With the offense centered on running back Josh Jacobs, the need to get the ball more to tight end Tucker Kraft, the possible emergence of running back MarShawn Lloyd and the possible re-emergence of tight end Luke Musgrave, there are a lot of mouths to feed but only so many cheese curds in the basket.

“That’s what I talked to all the guys about,” passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said. “‘You want good players around you. That helps us stay on the field and score more points.’ And when you have a deep, strong receiver room, good things happen for everyone.”

The competition will be fierce in training camp. Who will be that player who commands the most targets? Will it be Jayden Reed, who had three 100-yard games during the first half of last season? Will it be Romeo Doubs, the consistent route-runner who has so much to prove as he enters a contract year? Will it be Dontayvion Wicks, the one receiver who consistently gets open? Will Golden be too impressive to keep on the sideline?

It’s not just the top of the depth chart. Even with Christian Watson sidelined with a torn ACL, it will be a hot battle for the last spot or two on the 53-man roster. Bo Melton could have the advantage if he proves he can play cornerback, too. Malik Heath could have the advantage because he plays with an edge. Mecole Hardman could have the advantage because he’s a proven returner.

“I wasn’t like putting too much into making the team and stuff like that,” Melton said of his dual role. “I’m a team guy first. That’s the first rule here. I’m going to be for the team. Whatever the team asks me to do. Coach LaFleur came up and asked me would you ever think about doing it. I was like, ‘If it’s going to help the team, I might as well,’ you know what I mean? That’s my motto since I’ve been here. I’m a team-first guy. I’m going to help my team win any way I can and let’s see how it falls.”

Game-Changer: Jayden Reed

A second-round pick in 2023, Jayden Reed led the Packers in receptions and yards as a rookie and again last season.

The big question at this time last year was whether anyone would emerge as a true No. 1 receiver. Through the first half of last season, it appeared Reed might be that player. Headlined by three big games – all of which, oddly, came in losses – Reed through nine games was on pace for 68 receptions for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns. His 17.2-yard average ranked eighth among all receivers with at least 20 catches.

His season went into the ditch during the second half of the season, though. Through nine games, Reed ranked 34th among receivers with 36 receptions and 15th with 620 yards. During the final eight games, Reed ranked 60th with 19 receptions and 61st with 237 yards. His average plummeted to 12.5 yards per catch.

Still, Reed is Green Bay’s best receiver until proven otherwise. He is a weapon in the short game because of his quickness. Among 84 receivers who were targeted 50 times, Reed was sixth with 7.1 yards after the catch per catch, according to PFF. He is a weapon in the deep game because of his exceptional ball tracking. Of the 72 receivers who were targeted on at least 10 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, his 80.0 percent catch rate (12 catches, 15 targets) was No. 1.

Bumps and bruises have slowed Reed in both seasons. He went from three drops (an excellent 4.5 percent) as a rookie to 10 drops (a third-to-worst 15.4 percent) in 2024. If he can stay healthy and catch with better consistency, he should once again be the top weapon in the passing game.

“I think we’ve got a lot of playmakers in the room and, on any given day, anybody can go off,” Reed said during OTAs. “All that Wide Receiver 1 stuff, I don’t look at it as that. It’s like we’ve got a lot of different playmakers in the room that can make plays and at the end of the day, it’s about a team coming together and getting a job done and winning.”

X-Factor: Matthew Golden

In case you missed it, the Packers drafted a receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002 when they thrilled the home fans by selecting Matthew Golden with the 23rd overall pick.

Golden has elite speed – his 4.29-second time in the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine made him the fastest player on offense in the draft – and played with polish throughout the offseason. He’s got a chance to be an instant-impact performer rather than just a speed-for-speed replacement for injured Christian Watson to start the season.

It won’t be easy, though. There’s a playbook to learn. There are techniques to master. Being fast isn’t going to cut it against NFL competition. That’s why passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable has been focusing on the basics.

“You really got to hone in on from stance and start that I’m going to work,” Vrable said. “It might take a guy three months, six months to really feel comfortable and be elite at a stance and start and not just be slow off the rock. You can run a 4.39 at the Combine but you’re not that stance on the field. They’re just working releases and all those fundamentals. It’s a day-by-day grind for them. If they’re not there yet, you usually just tag them on plays until they get there with their growth.”

It used to be a rarity that a rookie receiver could deliver immediate results. In the 20 drafts from 2000 through 2019, 11 rookie receivers had 1,000-yard seasons, including four with 1,100 yards. Eleven had 70 catches. In the five drafts from 2020 through 2024, nine rookie receivers had 1,000-yard seasons, including seven with 1,100 yards. Fifteen had 70 catches.

If nothing else, this is at least interesting to note. Golden was the 23rd pick this year. So was the Vikings’ Jordan Addison in 2023 and the Jaguars’ Brian Thomas in 2024. As rookies, Addison had 70 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns and Thomas had 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, the 22nd pick in 2020, had 88 catches for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns.

It might be a tall task for Golden to hit those elite numbers, but at least the recent history shows immediate success is possible.

Under the Radar: Mecole Hardman

After Green Bay’s returning receivers failed to match last year’s hype, it was fairly big news when the Packers dove into the second tier of free agents and grabbed Mecole Hardman, a former second-round pick who owns three Super Bowl rings. With elite speed, proven production early in his career and reliable return skills, the signing made sense to at least offset the loss of Christian Watson’s game-breaking speed.

But then the Packers drafted Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third round. Now, there’s no guarantee Hardman will make the roster.

“I’m all for it,” he said of the added competition. “It brings different elements to the room, it brings competition to the room. I’ve been in the league seven years, so I’ve never been the type to shy away from competition. Myself, I’ve been in stacked rooms before. The competition makes everything great. Our job as receivers is to make it hard for the coaches to make a decision. All in all, I love the competition that it brings.”

Drafted by the Chiefs in 2019, Hardman caught 26 passes as a rookie (with a 20.7-yard average and six touchdowns), 41 passes in 2020 and 59 passes in 2023. He was on pace for another 50-plus-catch season before he was injured in 2022.

The last two years, Hardman caught only 27 passes for 214 yards with zero touchdowns. Well, he did catch one touchdown pass – the game-winner in overtime against the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

“He’s won three out of five Super Bowls. So, you talk about experience, no one else in this building has ever been to five,” passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said. “So, he’s been through a lot but he’s been so coachable. He’s been an open book and he wants to be coached. He wants to get his career back to what he was before he had the surgery and the injury, and he’s been busting his butt.

“You can definitely feel the speed out there. He’s been a great addition. I actually just told him that. I put my arm around him and told him, ‘I’m really glad that you signed here. I think this is going to be, in my mind, a great fit and a great building for you.’”

Noteworthy Number

84 percent: According to ESPN, Dontayvion Wicks’ get-open rate was 84 percent last season. Of 116 receivers, that trailed only the Giants’ Malik Nabers, the Buccaneers’ Mike Evans and the Eagles’ A.J. Brown. So, it’s little wonder why he kept getting opportunities.

Romeo Doubs was at 69 percent, Christian Watson was 58 percent and Jayden Reed was 50 percent. The league median is 55 percent.

Why is Wicks so good at getting open?

“Man, his twitch, timing, tempo,” Reed said. “It’s a lot of things that he do that make him different, so he does a great job with that, and you can’t really coach that. That’s just pure talent.”

Betting Odds

At DraftKings, the available over/unders for receiving yards are 725.5 for Matthew Golden and 700.5 for Jayden Reed.

Roster Projection

Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams and Malik Heath, with Christian Watson on the physically unable to perform list.

Key to Success: Catching the Ball

Drops weren’t the only reason why the Jordan Love-led passing game failed to reach expectations last season, but they didn’t help.

Last year, 84 receivers were targeted at least 50 times. Former Packers receiver Allen Lazard’s drop rate of 17.8 percent was the worst in the league. Right behind him were Dontayvion Wicks (17.0 percent; eight drops) and Jayden Reed (15.4 percent; 10 drops). Even Romeo Doubs was part of the problem, tying for 19th (9.8 percent; five drops). The best of the bunch was Christian Watson, who was a middle-of-the-pack 40th (two drops; 6.5 percent).

Those four players combined for 25 drops. Only three quarterbacks were hindered by more drops by their entire team last year.

Wicks was “playing with confidence” throughout the offseason, assistant coach Jason Vrable said.

“He was getting open, and then he would have a bad drop and everybody would be so upset over him and he’d be down on himself,” Vrable said. “I think he really learned to just handle one play at a time. It just happens to some guys. They want to score four touchdowns. They want to have 120 yards. …

“I think some days he was kind of going like this (motions downward). You could feel, it was almost like the whole world’s weighing on him. I told him, ‘Man, just let your work take care of itself. And every day you show up, outwork everybody in this room.’ And you saw at the end of the year when the ball was coming his way, there was a real confidence toward the end to get open and make the play.”

The other key will be the unit sticking together. Last season, Reed, Doubs, Wicks and Watson were competing for targets. The addition of the rookies means the potential of even fewer opportunities. With Doubs and Watson entering contract seasons and Reed and Wicks positioning themselves for their next contract, it will be vital to keep focused on the team.

“Thank God we got a group that we all love each other, so we all got each other back,” Reed said. “One day, I’ll have a good game and then Wicks will have a good game and then Christian will have a good game then Rome will have a good game then Bo (Melton will) have a good game, so that’s just how the game goes, man. As long as at the end of the day we end out on top and we win, that’s all that matters.”

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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 15, 2025