Packers Prospects: 5 Wide Receivers to Know
The Packers could still look to add to the wide receiver position if they find the right player.
By markoldacres
The Packers may be well stocked in the wide receiver room, but that does not mean Brian Gutekunst will avoid dipping into the 2024 draft class to keep adding talent around Jordan Love, especially if a different profile of player can be added which complements the current group.
With that in mind, here are five receivers who could be of interest to Green Bay in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Keon Coleman - Florida State
Coleman is perhaps one of the most polarizing evaluations in this year’s draft.
After transferring from Michigan State, Coleman racked up 11 touchdowns in his lone season with the Seminoles.
A ‘power forward’ type at an unofficial 6’3”, 215 lbs, Coleman has excellent hands, wins at the catch point consistently and is a red zone threat. In that way, he would bring a skillset to Green Bay’s wide receiver room which is not currently present.
Coleman is also a threat after the catch and at just 20 years old, there is plenty of room for him to develop, and he will need it.
In college he was not asked to win with pure route running very often, and there are concerns over his long speed. It is fair to question how Coleman’s game might translate to the NFL if he is forced to rely on contested catches.
Regardless, his profile could be valued in Green Bay, making Coleman a potential option in the second round.
Brenden Rice - USC
Rice is a well-rounded receiver who has shown the ability to win versus man and zone coverage, run crisp routes, and find the end zone, something he managed 12 times in his final college season.
He may not have one standout athletic trait, but Rice has more than enough to be effective, and at a confirmed 6’2” and 212 lbs, he fits the classic Packers mold at the wide receiver position.
Importantly, he gives plenty of effort as a blocker, a requirement to see the field in Matt LaFleur’s offense, and would be a valuable addition to any NFL wide receiver room. Rice could be a target for the Packers on day two.
Johnny Wilson - Florida State
Coleman’s teammate at Florida State, Wilson would certainly bring something to Green Bay which their current receivers do not have: size.
Wilson measured in at 6’6” at the Senior Bowl and weighed in at 237 lbs. His unique body type at the position presents a potential matchup problem for defenses, as well as a big target for Jordan Love.
He plays the position well for his size, eating up ground with his long-legged running style and being able to win with route running. Pressing him at the line of scrimmage is not advised for opposing corners and he has the potential to be a devastating blocker.
Wilson needs to become more dominant in his style, and there will be certain things he will always struggle with, such as sharply getting in and out of breaks, but if the Packers are looking for something different at wide receiver, Wilson could be it.
Green Bay could look to nab Wilson late on day two or early on day three.
Ricky Pearsall - Florida
Speaking of well-rounded wideouts, Pearsall is another who may catch Green Bay’s eye.
Pearsall is not likely to become a superstar in the league, but has a very solid skillset. He showed athleticism and physicality before and after the catch at Florida, while running a plethora of nuances routes effectively and blocking with great effort.
He will turn 24 during his rookie season, so may not be as much upside with Pearsall, but he could be a solid contributor right away as a mid round pick.
Javon Baker - UCF
Baker stands out as a potential future Packer, evoking some memories of Dontayvion Wicks.
He is simply a professional receiver, able to win at the line of scrimmage with his release, run routes well, be physical when he needs to and catch the ball.
Standing at a confirmed 6’1” and weighing 208 lbs, Baker is a prototype Packers receiver, and while he may not be a big play threat, lacking an extra gear of speed to threaten defenses deep, he would be welcome in Green Bay and could be in play early on day three.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (22)
packanimal
February 13, 2024 at 12:48 pm
Maybe there's something we need less than another young receiver. But the list of higher priorities is too long and has been too often recited here to need my repeating it. How about a WR who can also play safety or DT?
Cheezehead72
February 13, 2024 at 02:30 pm
The point of the article are receivers later in the draft that are interesting. This is a passing league so the more targets you have the better. There are a few positions you always draft WR, CB, DL, RB, and Edge.
The Packers will probably draft one WR.
packanimal
February 13, 2024 at 03:49 pm
What's the evidence that the Packers or any team will "always draft WR, CB, DL, RB, and Edge" but apparently don't always draft to fill at least one of the 5 OL positions?
Cheezehead72
February 14, 2024 at 05:11 am
I forgot OL. Sorry
TKWorldWide
February 14, 2024 at 01:59 pm
Versatility, baby!
T7Steve
February 13, 2024 at 12:53 pm
Adding a receiver was the last thing I would've thought of Mark.
How many do the Packers usually have in camp? How many do we currently have? Are there any injured or that they're going to move away from that will make more room at least temporarily? Don't know if they'd need to use a pick for a camp body though, just an undrafted guy maybe?
As long as there's room, I'm all for staying young. Just don't want to steal reps from the guys that we already have, that need them.
I would rather look at the TE room for adding bodies, but I'm sure there's a story in the works for that position, along with all the others.
We're just getting started being in the offseason.
WD
February 13, 2024 at 01:36 pm
It is hard to even name all the young talented WR's we have now. Moreover, in addition to what we have; don't forget Samori Toure. I assume he will be off injured reserve by next year. Meanwhile in the real world we have multiple needs on defense. As well as the kicking game! The only positions on offense to consider are RB and O- line in that order. Finally we should draft in the 5th round the best college kicker in the draft. Today the kicking game is more important than anything. We should not go into the next training camp with only the kicker we have now. No one can deny that he has been a disappointment. It seems like even extra points cause high anxiety.
10ve 💚
February 14, 2024 at 08:15 am
Is it possible a better long snapper may reduce the missed kicks?
I did see video evidence from one analysis that showed the bad snaps.
But I agree; we need competition at kicker.
dobber
February 13, 2024 at 01:41 pm
Good teams stockpile talent.
Coldworld
February 13, 2024 at 02:02 pm
But how much and when? Next year I could see it, but we need elsewhere and we have right now 5 apparently ready guys in Watson, Doubs, Reed, Wicks and Melton. That ignores Heath, Dubose and Toure, any one of whom could yet make a jump.
Given that I expect more not less 2TE sets, I’d say we pick up one one on day three perhaps, maybe a MVS type project (Tall, fast, outside type) if we do. They will take some upside UDFAs. We don’t need slots, big physical types as we have depth there already.
Cheezehead72
February 13, 2024 at 02:32 pm
You mention Toure and not Reed.
I agree you are always drafting WRs
Coldworld
February 13, 2024 at 03:27 pm
My bad. Reed was in my head not the text.
golfpacker1
February 13, 2024 at 05:40 pm
Penn state had a good TE that they underused, Theo Johnson. 6'6 250lbs and runs well.
I don't know if we will replace Deguara or if that wrinkle is in our future offensive plans, but the other TE I like is Dallin Holker-Colorado State. He would be an HB/TE replacement. He was a "Sleeper" before the Senior Bowl. He is 6'4 250 and caught 60 passes for the Rams last year. And he blocks pretty well too. We have options as neither probably goes before late 4th round.
Packerpasty
February 13, 2024 at 03:28 pm
Right!! So lets start by stockpiling some talent on the Defensive side of the ball..
golfpacker1
February 13, 2024 at 05:33 pm
This is an interesting article. WR is way down the list of needs, or even wants for GB this year. And there really should be no way we pick one in the first 4 rounds. But hear me out, maybe if we didn't get who we wanted @ #25, and ended up trading back for somebody's early 2nd rounder and 2 more picks, we might have extra capitol to take someone like Wilson.
I have been in on Johnny Wilson since I saw him on TV this year. I think he could be a gamechanger for somebody. He reminds me of when Darrin Waller was picked by the Raiders. Wilson could play WR and TE for us. Good luck to the LB trying to stay with Wilson. The article doesn't say that he runs 4.4s and blocks like a TE. We don't need another WR because we are loaded, but if this guy was still around in the 4th round, I wound snag him as fast as I could. And our offense would be unstoppable. It will never happen, but if we scored an extra early 4th for trading back. HMMMM.
Coleman is unrealistic as he will be a 2nd rounder. No interest in the others.
Rice is really a wildcard because he is 6'3 215lbs and runs 4.3s. And his dad is Jerry Freakin Rice! Do you think Jerry might help out whoever drafts his son in their WR room. He might have some tips on how to play WR.
I always look for "sleepers' at all positions for my late picks in my mocks. This year's WR sleeper is Josh Cephus-UTSA. 6'2 200lbs and 4.5 40. Oh, and he caught 300 passes for over 3500 yards in 5 seasons there!!! I always like the WRs rating service comments when they say," He is a QBs best friend because he catches everything." Just throw it up to him and he will come down with it.
If he was still around in the 7th round, I would take a flyer on him. He might be better than our last 3 WRs.
WD
February 14, 2024 at 07:17 am
I will take your word on these receivers. But, while forty times are important data they are speculative estimates until after the combine. We are still several months away from the draft and the coaches and Gute need to do their homework. The draft is like a chess game as it develops in it's own way. Playing the draft is an art in and of itself. That said, It is fun to speculate and I certainly do it too.
The_Justicar
February 15, 2024 at 05:45 pm
I see Coleman in first round mocks. Wilson dropped more passes than he caught. Packers fans hate the deposits and no receiver dropped more over the past two seasons. Don’t have interest in the others though Pearsall made the ncaa catch of the year, if he was around late worth a camp spot.
HawkPacker
February 14, 2024 at 06:49 am
Nice article and great comments too.
Earlier this season, when we were not playing great football, I thought we could have an early pick in the draft and I was all for trying to draft that great WR from Ohio State. Not needed now as we have a great WR room and not the # 3 or 4 pick.
My thought on who we draft early is based on who is available. We should draft the BPA no matter the position as I feel in the long run, this can/will set us apart from other teams. We proven that we can win with the current roster so how do we make it better? By selecting the BPA at any position including WR. Now if we have a position of need such as CB or S and this draftee is tied with the best WR as BPA, then select the position of need. Furthermore, if there is no one available that is head and shoulders above the rest in Gute's mind, then if we can trade down the draft, that makes sense as well.
Someone stated that our defense needs help maybe correct in that line of thinking. I would like to wait on that with our new DC and have him take part in the evaluation of the defense players before deciding to move on. This is in regards to Savage and Campbell among others. I don't like seeing us throwing away players who step in and play well for our competition. We need to reevaluate these players before the draft and culling happens.
golfpacker1
February 14, 2024 at 10:34 am
HawkPacker, the beauty of the NFL salary cap is that it works. Even good teams need to allow players to leave in free agency because they can't fit them in under the cap. Teams have figured ways around it somewhat by kicking the can down the road with bonuses and void years, but eventually it comes back to haunt them. The Saints and the Bills have huge problems this year and are going to release good players just so they can sign their draft classes. GB has their own problems, just not as bad.
In regard to Campbell and Savage and throwing them away. One thing for sure teams can't do is hang onto underperforming players who are killing the salary cap like Campbell for instance. Bahktiari is a similar example because he is never on the field anymore and commands a huge salary. Both will be released or traded after June 1st to save GB a lot of money. That would be a big win for GB.
Savage is a different case because his contract is up, and we owe him $5 million in dead money. Maybe Hafley decides to keep Savage if the price is right/cheap, and Hafley likes him. Maybe he can fix his shortcomings. Savage is small compared to most Safeties, but he is still fast. His tackling is weak and hands not so good. In the Savage case I think we can find better talent for the same money or not much more. We can upgrade his position. One great option is Jeremy Chinn-FA Panthers. He is bigger, almost as fast, and a way better tackler on the back end. He will probably get a contract worth $4 or $5 million per year because he didn't play much in 2023. Fell out of favor in Carolina.
Drafting BPA is great for really good teams only. GB is not one of those yet. We still have some large holes, Safety, CB, and O-line. We should not deviate from fixing those position groups in the first 2 rounds. But I do agree that if the players we have at the top of our board at PON haven't fallen to us @ #25, we should try to move back for more picks. Because the 2nd and 3rd rounds have a ton of good players @ our PON.
HawkPacker
February 14, 2024 at 07:29 pm
Hey golfpacker1, you could be right on Savage but I am not sure. Let's give the coaches time to decide his fate. Is it possible he was used incorrectly or just too expensive to keep and as you said, bad hands,etc.
As far as BPA, I think that is perfect for us and will make us better in the long run. Yes we have specific needs but if the player we select is no better than we have then the only savings is salary for CAP purposes. We proved this year that we could find players to fill our needs and if we have to next year we can do it again. And hopefully, not to that extent!
As far as hanging on to players too long? You need a crystal ball to have that answer. How many players that we cut did catch on with other teams and they are playing well. Tough to know for sure when to let someone go.
golfpacker1
February 15, 2024 at 11:49 am
Tough choices for Packer big wheels. I just read an article about 5 former packers that did not play well for their new teams last year. Randall Cobb, Adrian Amos, Robert Tonyan, Allen Lazard, and Dean Lowery. I would add Brian Bulaga and the center who signed with the Chargers. Between Cobb and Lazard, they had a total 28 receptions. Hopefully they bite the bullet on Bahk and Campbell as they have really underperformed the last 2 years.
There is a strong group of FA Safeties this year that we don't have to spend $20 million on. A good FA Safety and a high draft pick at that position really starts to change that position group back into a strength. My hope/choice would be Jeremy Chinn-Panthers. Big, fast, good tackler, and he is young like the rest of our team @ only 25.
Dan5
February 15, 2024 at 10:42 am
We don’t need no more wrs, we gotta let our young guys like Reed wicks Watson doubs and melton to all develop before we draft another guy. We should look at dbs like dejean koolaid or nubin.