The Green Bay Packers haven’t drafted a wide receiver in the first round since 2002. That’s 22 years of ignoring the position on Day 1, and it’s not a trend that should continue if they’re serious about helping quarterback Jordan Love succeed.
Analytics back that up. According to Pro Football Network, Jordan Love ranked 4th in EPA per dropback against zone coverage in 2023. Against man coverage ? He dropped to 33rd. That is a dramatic fall-off, and it doesn’t come out of nowhere. His wide receivers simply didn’t get open.
The only one who did — Christian Watson — tore his ACL in Week 18 and is expected to miss a good portion of the 2025 season. That’s a massive blow, especially considering Watson’s man coverage stats: 14 catches on 27 targets for 277 yards and 3.34 yards per route. Out of 71 qualified receivers, he ranked 5th in YPRR against man coverage.
Now compare that to the rest:
But weirdly, Reed was elite against zone. He ranked 2nd in the league in YPRR when facing zone defenses. Watson was 27th, Wicks was 31st, Doubs was 32nd.
That tells you exactly what’s going wrong. The Green Bay Packers are fine against soft coverage. They collapse the second defenses play tight and force their receivers to win 1-on-1s. That won’t change unless the front office makes a move.
Green Bay Packers can target high-efficiency receivers like Tre Harris and Tetairoa McMillan to fix their man coverage disaster
There are legit first-round options for the Packers if they finally break the curse. Some of the top names in the 2025 class have exactly the traits Green Bay needs — guys who torch man coverage and don’t disappear in tight matchups.
But if Green Bay doesn’t want to go WR in Round 1 again, they’ll still have serious Day 2 options.
Pro Football Network’s Sterling Xie wrote, “Even if Green Bay continues its 22-year drought of not taking a wide receiver in the first round, there are plenty of options to address this issue on Day 2. Prospects like Tre Harris, Jalen Royals and Kyle Williams should be available when the Packers pick in the second and third rounds, and all were ranked top 10 in the FBS in yards per route against man coverage in 2024.”
Let’s talk about Tre Harris for a second.
This guy had the best numbers in the entire class against man. He averaged 10.47 yards per route, which is not normal. That’s 6.03 yards better than Kyle Williams, who ranked second with 4.43. That gap alone should have Green Bay on the phone with his agent right now.
Head coach Matt LaFleur knows the problem isn’t just separation. It’s execution.
“That’s something that we took a deep dive at,” LaFleur said at the NFL owners meetings. “I think that was a big part of it, to be honest with you, is we had a ton of drops, and that’s an area that we have to clean up.”
Jayden Reed dropped seven passes on 16 catchable targets against man, a brutal 43.8% drop rate — highest in the NFL. Wicks wasn’t far behind.
LaFleur added, “It takes all 11, right? We talk about it all the time. There were times where we had situations where we just didn’t take advantage of it, and maybe it’s just one guy missing a block... but I think that we’ve got a pretty good plan going into next season.”
Whatever that plan is, it needs to include at least one wide receiver who can beat man coverage and hold onto the ball.
By the numbers and by the eye test, this team cannot pretend this problem doesn’t exist. The Green Bay Packers wide receiver issue is not just a hole, it’s a crater. And with Christian Watson out, it’s on Brian Gutekunst to stop gambling and start drafting.
Either they take a man-beater in Round 1 or they roll the dice on yet another second-day project. But the tape — and the stats — say they’re out of time.
Analytics back that up. According to Pro Football Network, Jordan Love ranked 4th in EPA per dropback against zone coverage in 2023. Against man coverage ? He dropped to 33rd. That is a dramatic fall-off, and it doesn’t come out of nowhere. His wide receivers simply didn’t get open.
The only one who did — Christian Watson — tore his ACL in Week 18 and is expected to miss a good portion of the 2025 season. That’s a massive blow, especially considering Watson’s man coverage stats: 14 catches on 27 targets for 277 yards and 3.34 yards per route. Out of 71 qualified receivers, he ranked 5th in YPRR against man coverage.
Now compare that to the rest:
- Romeo Doubs: 14 catches, 20 targets, 173 yards, 1.63 YPRR
- Jayden Reed : 9 catches, 22 targets, 109 yards, 0.93 YPRR
- Dontayvion Wicks: 11 catches, 29 targets, 59 yards, 0.75 YPRR
But weirdly, Reed was elite against zone. He ranked 2nd in the league in YPRR when facing zone defenses. Watson was 27th, Wicks was 31st, Doubs was 32nd.
That tells you exactly what’s going wrong. The Green Bay Packers are fine against soft coverage. They collapse the second defenses play tight and force their receivers to win 1-on-1s. That won’t change unless the front office makes a move.
Green Bay Packers can target high-efficiency receivers like Tre Harris and Tetairoa McMillan to fix their man coverage disaster
healthy jordan love >>> pic.twitter.com/xYznnWGiN2
— RELAX (@RELAXasf) April 18, 2025
There are legit first-round options for the Packers if they finally break the curse. Some of the top names in the 2025 class have exactly the traits Green Bay needs — guys who torch man coverage and don’t disappear in tight matchups.
- Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona): 3.50 yards per route vs. man, 2.82 vs. zone
- Luther Burden III (Missouri): 2.93 vs. man, 2.15 vs. zone
- Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State): 2.46 vs. man, 2.31 vs. zone
- Matthew Golden (Texas): 0.92 vs. man, 2.51 vs. zone
But if Green Bay doesn’t want to go WR in Round 1 again, they’ll still have serious Day 2 options.
Pro Football Network’s Sterling Xie wrote, “Even if Green Bay continues its 22-year drought of not taking a wide receiver in the first round, there are plenty of options to address this issue on Day 2. Prospects like Tre Harris, Jalen Royals and Kyle Williams should be available when the Packers pick in the second and third rounds, and all were ranked top 10 in the FBS in yards per route against man coverage in 2024.”
Let’s talk about Tre Harris for a second.
This guy had the best numbers in the entire class against man. He averaged 10.47 yards per route, which is not normal. That’s 6.03 yards better than Kyle Williams, who ranked second with 4.43. That gap alone should have Green Bay on the phone with his agent right now.
Head coach Matt LaFleur knows the problem isn’t just separation. It’s execution.
“That’s something that we took a deep dive at,” LaFleur said at the NFL owners meetings. “I think that was a big part of it, to be honest with you, is we had a ton of drops, and that’s an area that we have to clean up.”
Jayden Reed dropped seven passes on 16 catchable targets against man, a brutal 43.8% drop rate — highest in the NFL. Wicks wasn’t far behind.
LaFleur added, “It takes all 11, right? We talk about it all the time. There were times where we had situations where we just didn’t take advantage of it, and maybe it’s just one guy missing a block... but I think that we’ve got a pretty good plan going into next season.”
Whatever that plan is, it needs to include at least one wide receiver who can beat man coverage and hold onto the ball.
By the numbers and by the eye test, this team cannot pretend this problem doesn’t exist. The Green Bay Packers wide receiver issue is not just a hole, it’s a crater. And with Christian Watson out, it’s on Brian Gutekunst to stop gambling and start drafting.
Either they take a man-beater in Round 1 or they roll the dice on yet another second-day project. But the tape — and the stats — say they’re out of time.
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