There's not a lot going on in the NFL these days, so media types that need to say things speculate about what might happen. If you can throw in a few big, easily recognizable names, all the better. That's how Ian Rapoport generates a story about the Packers maybe signing one of the top free agent wideouts still floating around.
The biggest name wideouts still looking for jobs -- hmm, wonder why -- include Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham and Julio Jones. Rapoport said on the Pat McAfee show that he thinks Green Bay will be involved, because of how many times they get really close to almost getting to the Super Bowl. "You know you've got a chance to make the Super Bowl, that is attractive," he said.
Thing is, as Rapoport well knows, veteran free agents available in mid-May are available for a reason.
Jones is 33 years old. He appeared in 10 games last year; he played more than half the snaps in only five contests. Landry appeared in 12 games and turns 30 during the season. Beckham also turns 30 during the season, but more importantly he's torn his ACL twice in the last 18 months. The most recent occurrence was in the Super Bowl, which was 90 days ago.
If you can promise these three will all stay on the field (and certainly Landry has a relatively promising track record) they can be solid contributors. There were 64 wide receivers last year who played in at least 10 games and averaged at least 4.5 targets per game, including all three of these guys. But why would anyone promise they can stay on the field?
| WIDE RECEIVER TARGETS PER GAME, 2021 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | Tgt/G |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 17 | 191 | 145 | 1947 | 16 | 11.2 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 16 | 169 | 123 | 1553 | 11 | 10.6 |
| Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 16 | 169 | 107 | 1161 | 8 | 10.6 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 17 | 167 | 108 | 1616 | 10 | 9.8 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 157 | 106 | 1138 | 6 | 9.8 |
| Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 17 | 164 | 103 | 1225 | 10 | 9.6 |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 17 | 163 | 93 | 1157 | 4 | 9.6 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 17 | 159 | 111 | 1239 | 9 | 9.4 |
| Marquise Brown, Balt. | 16 | 146 | 91 | 1008 | 6 | 9.1 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 14 | 127 | 98 | 1103 | 5 | 9.1 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 16 | 140 | 104 | 1015 | 6 | 8.8 |
| Brandin Cooks, Hou. | 16 | 134 | 90 | 1037 | 6 | 8.4 |
| Darnell Mooney, Chi. | 17 | 140 | 81 | 1055 | 4 | 8.2 |
| A.J. Brown, Ten. | 13 | 105 | 63 | 869 | 5 | 8.1 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 16 | 129 | 76 | 1146 | 9 | 8.1 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 14 | 110 | 74 | 1091 | 6 | 7.9 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 17 | 130 | 77 | 1053 | 5 | 7.6 |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 17 | 129 | 75 | 967 | 12 | 7.6 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 17 | 129 | 88 | 1082 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 16 | 121 | 77 | 1405 | 6 | 7.6 |
| JaMarr Chase, Cin. | 17 | 128 | 81 | 1455 | 13 | 7.5 |
| Hunter Renfrow, L.V. | 17 | 128 | 103 | 1038 | 9 | 7.5 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 16 | 120 | 79 | 1102 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Jakobi Meyers, N.E. | 17 | 126 | 83 | 866 | 2 | 7.4 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 13 | 95 | 67 | 726 | 10 | 7.3 |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 10 | 73 | 40 | 515 | 2 | 7.3 |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 12 | 87 | 52 | 570 | 2 | 7.3 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 16 | 114 | 74 | 1035 | 14 | 7.1 |
| Marvin Jones, Jac. | 17 | 120 | 73 | 832 | 4 | 7.1 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 17 | 119 | 90 | 912 | 5 | 7.0 |
| Chase Claypool, Pitt. | 15 | 105 | 59 | 860 | 2 | 7.0 |
| Cole Beasley, Buff. | 16 | 112 | 82 | 693 | 1 | 7.0 |
| Elijah Moore, NYJ | 11 | 77 | 43 | 538 | 5 | 7.0 |
| Amari Cooper, Dall. | 15 | 104 | 68 | 865 | 8 | 6.9 |
| Russell Gage, Atl. | 14 | 94 | 66 | 770 | 4 | 6.7 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 16 | 107 | 73 | 1175 | 8 | 6.7 |
| Robby Anderson, Car. | 17 | 110 | 53 | 519 | 5 | 6.5 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Ariz. | 10 | 64 | 42 | 572 | 8 | 6.4 |
| Laviska Shenault, Jac. | 16 | 100 | 63 | 619 | 0 | 6.3 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 17 | 104 | 64 | 916 | 5 | 6.1 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 17 | 103 | 77 | 982 | 5 | 6.1 |
| Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 12 | 71 | 51 | 447 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 16 | 94 | 67 | 828 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Odell Beckham, 2TM | 14 | 82 | 44 | 537 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 17 | 98 | 58 | 776 | 2 | 5.8 |
| A.J. Green, Ariz. | 16 | 92 | 54 | 848 | 3 | 5.8 |
| Kadarius Toney, NYG | 10 | 57 | 39 | 420 | 0 | 5.7 |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 12 | 68 | 46 | 515 | 1 | 5.7 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Den. | 10 | 56 | 38 | 467 | 0 | 5.6 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 12 | 66 | 38 | 410 | 1 | 5.5 |
| Kenny Golladay, NYG | 14 | 76 | 37 | 521 | 0 | 5.4 |
| Tim Patrick, Den. | 16 | 85 | 53 | 734 | 5 | 5.3 |
| Van Jefferson, LAR | 17 | 89 | 50 | 802 | 6 | 5.2 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Buff. | 14 | 72 | 42 | 626 | 4 | 5.1 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 11 | 55 | 26 | 430 | 3 | 5.0 |
| Brandon Aiyuk, S.F. | 17 | 84 | 56 | 826 | 5 | 4.9 |
| Marquez Callaway, N.O. | 17 | 84 | 46 | 698 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Mecole Hardman, K.C. | 17 | 83 | 59 | 693 | 2 | 4.9 |
| K.J. Osborn, Min. | 17 | 82 | 50 | 655 | 7 | 4.8 |
| Julio Jones, Ten. | 10 | 48 | 31 | 434 | 1 | 4.8 |
| Rondale Moore, Ariz. | 14 | 64 | 54 | 435 | 1 | 4.6 |
| TreQuan Smith, N.O. | 11 | 50 | 32 | 377 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Deonte Harris, N.O. | 13 | 59 | 36 | 570 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 13 | 58 | 26 | 339 | 2 | 4.5 |
Landry might make some sense in Green Bay; better track record for health, and a reliable target. But Green Bay still has Rodgers' buddy Randall Cobb playing the slot, they've drafted a couple of Day 2 wideouts the last two years, and they signed a veteran wideout already in Sammy Watkins. It feels like they may have already filled their quota for injury-prone veteran wideouts, which would seem to exclude them from adding Jones. If Beckham steps on a field before November it will be a surprise, so I'm not sure why the Packers would be allotting money there.
Maybe Landry, but we hear about a different team maybe signing Landry pretty much every other day. For now, I'm thinking Watkins, Allen Lazard, Cobb, and their various youngsters -- that's the Green Bay wide receiver corps. If and when those guys don't work out or get injured, maybe that's when we'll see the Packers looking at veterans. For now, I'm going with this report just being Rapoport filling dead air in a slow news period.
--Andy Richardson