Cory's Corner: Like It Or Not, The Packers Have A WR1
The Packers may not need one, but the Packers most certainly have one.
All offseason, all we talked about was how it doesn’t matter who the No. 1 wide receiver will be for the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers may not desire a WR1, but they have found one nonetheless.
If you’re still wondering who it is, you haven’t been watching much. Jayden Reed has taken the No. 1 receiving reins and has ran with it. He leads the Packers in targets (47), receptions (36) and yards (620).
But what really sets No. 11 apart is his ability to be versatile. There’s that word again. We’ve hit you over the head with that word over the past three years and it’s clear that Reed can do anything.
Reed was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound receiver was doubted by many as being too small. Many thought that he would struggle to get open let alone make an impact.
His lightning speed has quieted that criticism. Whether it’s catching a toe-tap ball on the boundary, catching a ball over the middle and hunting for yards after the catch or zipping for a first down on a jet sweep.
Reed can do it all.
“I love the energy he brings and it’s not just on gameday,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur. “It’s everyday. We’re lucky to have a guy like that. He’s a tone setter. He really is and I love how he competes and how prepares for each and every battle. And then he goes out and it’s probably why he performs pretty well. He’s pretty consistent in his approach and does all the little things the right way.”
The thing that I like about Reed is that the sophomore receiver is not your typical diva receiver that wants or craves all the attention. He acts like he’s been there before and then he goes out and does it again and again and again. This season, he has eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark three times and in two games, he had a 100 percent catch percentage.
It's funny how the Packers were boasting about the depth at wideout back in August and now it’s clear that Reed has turned into the guy that needs the ball in his hands. Reed is averaging 7.8 yards after the catch, which is sixth among all wide receivers. Amazingly enough, Reed also has two broken tackles on receptions — something that nobody thought was possible when the Packers drafted him a couple years ago.
Reed is in this position because he has taken nothing for granted. And because he is still fueled by people that doubted him after he averaged 49 receptions, 689 yards and six touchdowns in three years at Michigan State and was named a first team All-American his redshirt junior year.
The Packers may not want a No. 1 receiver, but they have one anyway. The offense hums differently when he has the ball.
“Given the opportunities in games, he’s making big time plays,” said LaFleur. “There were three outstanding catches I thought he made in (the Week 4 Vikings at Packers) game. One being the touchdown, there was another one late in the game, it was on our last drive, where he was uncovered and Jordan sped it up and got him the football and it was a little behind him but Jayden made a hell of a catch. And then the last big play was right before (Dontayvion) Wicks’ touchdown and Jordan just gave him a chance to go up and get it and he beat (Vikings safety) Harrison (Smith) for the football.”
Packers WR Jayden Reed has built strong chemistry with QB Jordan Love.
After posting 33.1 fantasy points in Week 1 and 27.1 last week, Reed faces a Rams defense allowing the 9th most points to WRs.
He’s on the WR1 radar for Week 5 given the matchup: pic.twitter.com/t9WLj6rq3Z
— Moody (@EricNMoody) October 4, 2024
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
__________________________
Comments (28)
HarryHodag
November 09, 2024 at 07:16 am
If you notice Reed has not had as many of those wide open catches this year he had last year. The defensive coordinators elsewhere figured out if they limit Reed they cut into the Packers offense. Reed's additional asset is the threat he poses running which, in theory, should open up other receivers.
He doesn't appear to be a large in stature receiver and has taken some might shots but bounces right up.
stockholder
November 09, 2024 at 07:28 am
After Amari Rodgers.
Reed filled what MLF offense needed.
I believe in the scouting reports.
They were correct.
From the slot, he has become everything the
packers wanted.
That might just be enough to make him # 1.
So they better keep him there.
Guam
November 09, 2024 at 07:47 am
While Reed may be the Packers #1 receiver statistically, I much prefer the current diversified passing attack that throws to the open man rather than having a dominant #1 WR like Davante Adams and a supporting cast. I believe it is much harder for opposing DC's to scheme against a diversified attack than blanket one dominant receiver. I appreciate Reed, but am very happy the Packers also have Watson, Doubs, Kraft, Wicks, Melton, Heath and Musgrave.
Bitternotsour
November 09, 2024 at 08:38 am
i would agree with that assessment, and also, a #1 receiver is usually an economic statement.
there's never a number one if everyone is on a rookie contract and no one was taken in the top ten. we've done quite nicely with this committee of equals.
Guam
November 09, 2024 at 09:24 am
Unfortunately for the Packers, the economics are going to change when this group starts coming off their rookie contracts. I suspect the Packers are going to lose several of this group to economics and Gute will have to reload again. I really like this "committee of equals", but it is unlikely to last beyond the expiration of their rookie contracts.
Bitternotsour
November 09, 2024 at 09:32 am
and in that regard, it's a better discussion about who should/might get extended. we already see that devaluing the position monetarily has not negatively affected offensive performance.
Gutekunst is pretty fascinating and ahead of the curve in that. He thinks pretty big. Draft classes, future talent at positions, salary implications, resource allocation. The planning is massive, and trust me Stock, there is a very large plan. It goes further than 5 years out. For this we can forever thank Ted Thompson, the master architect.
Guam
November 10, 2024 at 07:47 am
Excellent points and well said Bitter!
Tundraboy
November 11, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Part of me thinks that Rodgers has some regrets.
Starrbrite
November 09, 2024 at 12:24 pm
Yes—I agree Guam
EnemyTerritory
November 10, 2024 at 05:59 pm
Agreed Guam but it’s becoming obvious that the lower half to third of the WR crew, Melton, Heath and possibly Wicks, are the chaff that can be reloaded. Watson has done little to show he needs to be economically rewarded. So you reward Kraft, Reed, and Doubs and start reloading in the draft. You still have a high functioning offensive squad that is not economically weighing the team down. Free up some cap space by dumping underperforming defensive players and you can remain competitive and flexible in free agency
NickPerry
November 09, 2024 at 10:00 am
Love Reed, love his game. He's tough as hell because we've seen him take some big hits, especially on punt returns (Why MLF?) but he gets right up after everyone of them. He's got really good hands and watching him run with the ball is always fun. But a true #1? Not sure if a true #1 is even on the roster.
The 2nd half of the season is going to tell us a lot about the Packers WR room. Coming into the year it wasn't just Reed people were talking about. It was the whole WR group. But so far this season it's been Reed and... Doubs has had a nice few games after his suspension, but #Wicks has far too many drops and Watson has caught a grand total of 16 balls.
Reed IS the #1 right now on this roster. I think Doubs is an excellent #2-3. Kraft is a STUD but after that, through week 9 of the Packers season, everybody else has been a bit "Meh". I think MLF should make it a point to get Watson more involved. 16 catches? Really LaFleur?
Starrbrite
November 09, 2024 at 12:26 pm
Right—Watson must be targeted more.
Coldworld
November 09, 2024 at 05:09 pm
Watson would seem the logical choice to play the X role again with Wicks’ struggles. I hope LaFleur remembers to work in some crossing routes too.
egbertsouse
November 09, 2024 at 10:03 am
Other than Reed , the WRs seem to be pretty much JAGs. I had hopes for Doubs, but he disappears for stretches. Watson has his moments but then loses contested catches or misjudges passes. Droptavian seems to lose focus much of the time. Melton and Heath? Meh. These WRs are not terrible, they are average .
mnbadger
November 09, 2024 at 10:09 am
Heath is a very valuable asset as a blocker.
that guy is a dog that wants to have a positive impact on every play, whether he has the ball or not.
One of my favorite current Packers.
GPG!
joejetson
November 09, 2024 at 12:50 pm
I don't buy the whole concept of a "#1 receiver".
The guy who gets open the most gets targeted the most. Then he has to catch the balls thrown to him.
That's the difference between Reed and Wicks. Reed catches the ball. I hope Wicks development parallels Davante Adams'. Adams had problems with drops his first couple years but corrected it.
On the other hand, a player like MVS never fixed his hands issue. His potential never equalled his performance.
JugGirard
November 09, 2024 at 01:25 pm
I think the explanation as to why Watson is not showing what he did in 2022 is quite simple.
Take a look at these statistical facts and comparison:
Rodgers in 2022 – playing with a broken thumb on his throwing hand for the last 13 games - threw to Watson 62 times for 38 completions - a 61.3% completion rate with 508 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception for a passer rating of 112.8.
Jordan in 2023 threw to Watson 53 times for 28 completions - a 52.8% completion rate with 422 yards, with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions for a passer rating of 71.4
Jordan in 2024 has thrown to Watson 25 times for 14 completions - a 56% completion rate – for 166 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for a passer rating of 69.7.
In the one full game that Malik Willis played with Christian Watson - 2 pass attempts, 2 completions, 67 yards, 0 Tds, 0 Int. passer rating 118.7. Small sample size, but an indication of what can be.
Watson is a great receiver and game breaker.
The only variable that has changed since Rodgers was throwing to him in 2022 is the quarterback.
Rodgers – with a broken thumb - had Watson – as a rookie - for 8 games in 2022 – and in just 8 games produced 28 completions, 6 touchdowns, just 1 interception and most of the 508 yards. If Rodgers had Watson – as he did in 2022 – Watson would have 35 completions and 7 TDs by now and 80 receptions and 15 TDs by the end of the season – at least.
All the Packer receivers’ numbers would be much better with situationally aware and accurate quarterback.
With Jordan throwing, Watson – and all the Packers receivers – are just as likely to end up on a stretcher or in the hospital than In the end zone.
Jordan has no significant injury - all NFL QBs play through sprains and strains.
Malik would do much better than a perfectly healthy Jordan Love and increase the Packers chances of winning.
Jordan does not have the arm strength and touch and grasp of space and time to be able to execute intermediate and long passes accurately on a consistent basis.
Evidence of this is Christian Watson's passer rating and results with Aaron Rodgers throwing to Watson vs. passer rating with Jordan throwing to Watson.
The same thing happened to Davante Adams, when you get time examine Davante Adams Advanced receiving stats with Rodgers in 2020-21 and 2021-22 and then look at Davante's numbers with Derek Carr in 2022-23 and Aiden O'Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023.
Here is a quick summary:
2020-21 with Rodgers, 149 Targets, 115 Catches, 77% catch rate, Passer Rating 136, 3 interceptions, TDs 18
2021-22 with Rodgers 155 Targets 117 Catches, 75% catch rate, Passer Rating 124, 3 interceptions TDs 11
2022-23 with Derek Carr,180 Targets 100 Catches, 55.5% catch rate, 95,5 Passer Rating, 6 interceptions TDs 14
2023-24 with Aidan O'Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo Targets 175 Catches 103, catch rate 58.8%, Passer Rating, 79.3, 6 interceptions TDs 8
You can see that Davante's catch rate drops dramatically, interceptions double, and and passer rating falls off the cliff.
An accurate QB makes all the difference in the world for a receiver.
What receiver wants to at risk of going to the hospital several times a game because the QB makes ridiculous throws into traffic?
You should not have to be gymnast to catch your QB's throws.
barutanseijin
November 09, 2024 at 03:05 pm
Ah, the song of the Rodgers die-hard lamenting the loss of his idol. Such sweet sad music.
Tundraboy
November 11, 2024 at 12:34 pm
Very witty my friend.
Coldworld
November 09, 2024 at 05:13 pm
Rodgers struggled with Watson. Watson’s not a great receiver, he’s a raw athlete who has been held back from injuries from both playing time and perfecting technique. Not sure that you’ve watched much Watson at all based upon that lengthy screed.
Packers'Dynasties6of16-5of7-next....
November 12, 2024 at 04:25 pm
It seems from all the comments I have read from you, you are always scapegoating players and coaches for Gutekunst’s terrible choices with Jordan and for other terrible decisions by Gutekunst.
The point made was CRYSTAL CLEAR.
Watson had little problem putting up excellent numbers with Rodgers throwing to him.
That is CRYSTAL clear from the numbers that were posted - Watson had a 112.8 passer rating with Rodgers throwing to him and has had a 71.4 (2023) and 69.7 (2024) passer rating with Jordan throwing to him.
In other words, Rodgers had a higher completion % per pass attempt, lower interception % per pass attempt, higher TD pass % per pass attempt, and greater yards per pass attempt than Jordan when throwing to Watson over the 62 pass attempts from Rodgers and pass attempts 53 (2023) and now 25 (2024) pass attempts from Jordan.
Jordan threw 5 times as many interceptions(5, 9.4% per target) when throwing to Watson in 2023 than Rodgers did in 2023 (1, 1.6% per target ), even though Rodgers threw 21% more passes to Watson than Jordan did. This year, 2024, Jordan is throwing interceptions on 8% (2) of the times (25) Jordan has targeted Watson.
Go back and watch Al’s posting of 2 videos of 2 throws Jordan made this past week to Watson and Wicks - Packers Vs. Lions - 3 Plays That Make You Go Hmmm.
My wife and I and 2 of our sons have been watching the Packers together for many years and we watched Als’ 2 videos.
What stood out most to all of us more than anything else were that 2 of Jordan's 3 throws were very poorly thrown, timed and inaccurate.
The 4th quarter throw to Wicks which starts at 7 seconds of the video has Jordan off balance and throwing off one leg and as you said "certainly was thrown behind him". Wicks was running full speed to the right sideline and had to twist himself around severely to attempt to catch the ball.
Jordan's throw to Watson in the 2nd video was even worse than the 4th quarter throw to Wicks . Christian is running full speed to the right sideline and also has to stop his momentum and do a pirouette and miraculously makes the catch. In fact, Christian probably saved Jordan from yet another interception on that play.
Wide receivers should not have to be contortionists and ballerinas to catch passes.
It would be terrible if Watson is traded or released when the REAL problem is Jordan and hence Gutekuns,, the biggest problem.
dobber
November 11, 2024 at 07:53 am
"An accurate QB makes all the difference in the world for a receiver."
All of this, using mostly an HOF WR and QB as your main point, to get to a "well, duh" conclusion.
Packers'Dynasties6of16-5of7-next....
November 12, 2024 at 04:33 pm
“Well duh”, it was clear to me, but apparently you completely missed the commenter's point.
The point was Watson had little problem putting up excellent numbers with Rodgers throwing to him.
That is CRYSTAL clear from the numbers that were posted - Watson had a 112.8 passer rating with Rodgers throwing to him and has had a 71.4 (2023) and 69.7 (2024) passer rating with Jordan throwing to him.
in other words Rodgers had a higher completion % per pass attempt, lower interception % per pass attempt, higher TD pass % per pass attempt, and greater yards per pass attempt than Jordan when throwing to Watson over the 62 pass attempts from Rodgers and pass attempts 53 (2023) and now 25 (2024) pass attempts from Jordan.
The reason Watson had no problem with Rodgers’ passes and has a problem with Love’s passes is that Watson is your intermediate and long distance threat. Passes of these distance require the quarterback to be:
1) Accurate – longer passes require some times more arc, sometimes more velocity, always more distance, all which require more arm strength and touch than the shorter check downs
2) Throw the ball on time – not too early, not too late – timing is more difficult to get right on longer and intermediate throws than shorter throws – you have see and process time and space
3) As important as #1 and #2, the QB must be aware of the defensive scheme he is facing, part of being situationally away.
All the Packers receivers would be doing better with a more situationally aware and accurate QB, but those receivers that are being used more as deep threats are OBSOLETE with Jordan throwing – which is a real shame , especially for Watson and to a lesser degree Wicks and Melton. Jordan is not a franchise QB, and Gutekunst is not a competent GM.
Very clear to me.
And the other point was that even the Hall of Fame Receiver was a vastly more productive with a Hall of Fame Quarterback throwing to him rather than a #10 QB like Carr or a marginal starter like Garoppolo.
All very clear but you – and a couple Gutekunst apologists/propagandists/"public relations" specialists - apparently don’t want to see it.
Leatherhead
November 09, 2024 at 06:36 pm
The Packers should focus the majority of their targets on Reed, Doubs, and Kraft. Let's keep the ball in the hands of our producers as much as we can.
Tundraboy
November 11, 2024 at 12:36 pm
As well as Musgrave and Lloyd I hope.
lou
November 10, 2024 at 01:34 pm
Since Jones is gone Reed has become "the teams best weapon", forget WR1 talk. Because of that I have reservations of him returning punts because of the injury risk but I would let him do that in the playoffs because it is win or go home.
Leatherhead
November 10, 2024 at 02:55 pm
Best weapon is kind of subjective. Josh Jacobs is our most productive guy with 890 yards from scrimmage, followed by Reed, Doubs, and Kraft. Jacobs and Reed are tied for the team lead in TDs with only 4.
I like Reed catching punts, because he's sure handed. I wouldn't want to risk him getting injured on a return.
The Packers started the season and it looked like we had more weapons than we knew what to do with, but guys got injured, guys stepped up, guys made plays, etc. and I'd keep the ball in the hands of Jacobs, Reed, Doubs, and Kraft from here on out at least 80% of the time. That still leaves a couple of opportunities for Jacobs backup, Watson, Wicks, Melton, Musgrave.......
IMO, it has reached that point in the season where we need to keep the ball in the hands of the Big 4 most of the time.
GregC
November 11, 2024 at 09:23 am
Not much content on CheeseheadTV these past few days. Hopefully things will pick up as the next game approaches. Reed is the most productive receiver, but he still doesn't seem like a #1. They move him around, and he gets his catches (and carries), but I never get the feeling that the passing game is built around him. And that's fine. I wouldn't be surprised if Watson or Doubs is more productive than Reed in the second half of the season.