Various reports have the Packers looking at the top wideouts coming out of college. An Adam Schefter report yesterday says they'll be meeting with Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka. It makes sense.
The Packers have a lot of talented wideouts, including some early picks at the position, but they're short on reliable options.
Christian Watson stayed healthy most of last season, for a change, but tore his ACL in January. No one should be counting on him playing the first half of the season. Jayden Reed had that huge game to open last season, but proved inconsistent over the course of the year. Especially in terms of drops.
And it's not just him. The only team to drop a higher percentage of passes last year than the Packers was the Browns. And it wasn't just one struggling player; the Packers had a disturbing number of representatives in this problem area.
Table shows drop rates for all wide receivers with at least 70 targets a year ago. The Packers somehow managed to put three different players in the top 5 (Cleveland has the other two).
| WIDE RECEIVER DROP RATES, 2024 (70-PLUS TARGETS) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Drop | Drop% |
| Amari Cooper, 2tms | 85 | 44 | 547 | 12 | 21.4 |
| Dontayvion Wicks, G.B. | 76 | 39 | 415 | 9 | 18.8 |
| Jayden Reed, G.B. | 75 | 55 | 857 | 9 | 14.1 |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 72 | 46 | 601 | 7 | 13.2 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 145 | 90 | 1,229 | 13 | 12.6 |
| Xavier Legette, Car. | 84 | 49 | 497 | 7 | 12.5 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 83 | 58 | 744 | 8 | 12.1 |
| Quentin Johnston, LAC | 91 | 55 | 711 | 7 | 11.3 |
| Xavier Worthy, K.C. | 98 | 59 | 638 | 7 | 10.6 |
| Tank Dell, Hou. | 81 | 51 | 667 | 6 | 10.5 |
| Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 81 | 51 | 670 | 6 | 10.5 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 135 | 81 | 1,081 | 9 | 10.0 |
| Rome Odunze, Chi. | 101 | 54 | 734 | 6 | 10.0 |
| Demario Douglas, N.E. | 87 | 66 | 621 | 7 | 9.6 |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 71 | 39 | 573 | 4 | 9.3 |
| George Pickens, Pitt. | 103 | 59 | 900 | 6 | 9.2 |
| Calvin Ridley, Ten. | 120 | 64 | 1,017 | 6 | 8.6 |
| Darnell Mooney, Atl. | 106 | 64 | 992 | 6 | 8.6 |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 72 | 45 | 756 | 4 | 8.2 |
| Keenan Allen, Chi. | 121 | 70 | 744 | 6 | 7.9 |
| Malik Nabers, NYG | 170 | 109 | 1,204 | 9 | 7.6 |
| Elijah Moore, Cle. | 102 | 61 | 538 | 5 | 7.6 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 74 | 49 | 600 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 116 | 74 | 1,059 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Marvin Harrison, Ari. | 116 | 62 | 885 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Brian Thomas, Jac. | 133 | 87 | 1,282 | 7 | 7.4 |
| Davante Adams, NYJ | 114 | 67 | 854 | 5 | 6.9 |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 175 | 127 | 1,708 | 9 | 6.6 |
| Davante Adams, 2tms | 141 | 85 | 1063 | 6 | 6.6 |
| Josh Downs, Ind. | 107 | 72 | 803 | 5 | 6.5 |
| Garrett Wilson, NYJ | 154 | 101 | 1,104 | 7 | 6.5 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 152 | 101 | 1194 | 7 | 6.5 |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 113 | 77 | 975 | 5 | 6.1 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 140 | 93 | 699 | 6 | 6.1 |
| Michael Wilson, Ari. | 71 | 47 | 548 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Jalen Tolbert, Dall. | 79 | 49 | 610 | 3 | 5.8 |
| Ladd McConkey, LAC | 112 | 82 | 1,149 | 5 | 5.7 |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 108 | 66 | 992 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 110 | 74 | 1,004 | 4 | 5.1 |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 91 | 58 | 1,001 | 3 | 4.9 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 158 | 100 | 1271 | 5 | 4.8 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 137 | 100 | 1,130 | 5 | 4.8 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 117 | 82 | 1,096 | 4 | 4.7 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 154 | 103 | 1,533 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Ray-Ray McCloud, Atl. | 87 | 62 | 686 | 3 | 4.6 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 99 | 68 | 1,006 | 3 | 4.2 |
| Tre Tucker, L.V. | 81 | 47 | 539 | 2 | 4.1 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 109 | 73 | 911 | 3 | 3.9 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, 2tms | 80 | 56 | 610 | 2 | 3.4 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 141 | 115 | 1,263 | 4 | 3.4 |
| Jordan Addison, Min. | 99 | 63 | 875 | 2 | 3.1 |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 140 | 98 | 966 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 100 | 67 | 710 | 2 | 2.9 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 89 | 68 | 833 | 2 | 2.9 |
| Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 123 | 81 | 959 | 2 | 2.4 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 111 | 69 | 808 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Khalil Shakir, Buff. | 100 | 76 | 821 | 1 | 1.3 |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 106 | 79 | 990 | 1 | 1.3 |
| Jakobi Meyers, L.V. | 129 | 87 | 1,027 | 1 | 1.1 |
| A.J. Brown, Phil. | 97 | 67 | 1,079 | 0 | .0 |
Maybe Jordan Love throws a really tricky spiral? Whatever the case, with three wideouts struggling with drops and a fourth coming off a significant knee injury, you don't need to do a lot of work connecting the dots. Look for the Packers to be continuing to visit with the draft's top wideouts over the next week or two.
--Andy Richardson