By: Jeremy Trottier

With the 2022 NFL Draft just around the corner, many if not all teams still have some major holes they need to fill via their picks.  With this, the Green Bay Packers have multiple needs, but the most glaring at the moment would be wide receiver.  After trading away Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, as well as losing Marquez Valdes-Scantling via free agency to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Packers really do not have much left at the position for Aaron Rodgers to work with.  In this article, I will be covering 3 draft targets at the WR position for the Packers, who could reasonably fall to the Packers various picks through the first few rounds.

Option 1: Treylon Burks ”“ Arkansas ”“ First Round

The first option for the Packers is the big bodied receiver out of Arkansas, Treylon Burks.  Burks would be probably the best option for the Packers at the back end of the first round if he were to fall there, as he fits the bill for a true WR1 in this league.  His game is primarily his ability to be physical and make tough high point catches through contact and has some very solid YAC capabilities.  He has some impressive overall measurables, at 6’3” 225 pounds, with 9 7/8” hands and a 79 1/8” wingspan.  His speed, while testing somewhat at an average level, is underrated, as he has some really good play speed that just is not shown in events like the 40-yard dash. 

Option 2: Jahan Dotson ”“ Penn State ”“ First Round/Trade into early second

Onto the second option, who is a much different prospect than Burks in Jahan Dotson from Penn State.  Dotson is an absolutely amazing route runner, as many other writers and scouts can verify, and has some great tempo in his running.  While not the 4.2/4.3 type speed receiver, he has the ability to stop and start to get himself open against DBs, and break up routes into pieces to keep defensive backs off balance.  He also has great hands and will come down with a lot of passed, even when they are not within an immediate catch radius. 

Option 3: Alec Pierce ”“ Cincinnati ”“ Second Round/Third Round

The final option on our list is more of a day 2 prospect, as to give some variety and allow the Packers to fill other needs on day 1 if needed.  Alec Pierce is another physical jump ball receiver at 6’3” and 211 pounds, however his speed blew a lot of people away, as he ran a blazing 4.33.  For a receiver this large and with such a wide catch radius, as well as some great high-pointing capabilities, he really has all the traits you would want in a developmental receiver.  With some training in YAC maneuvers and some diversification in his route tree, he could be something special at the next level. 

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By: Corey Hietpas

The Packers have enjoyed major success in the NFC North for quite some time now. Green Bay has been the division champion for 7 of the last 10 years, which includes two straight in 2019 and 2020. Clearly, their division champion streak is now in jeopardy with MVP QB Aaron Rodgers threatening to hold out of this season though. As a Packer fan, I am a bit worried about the state of the team without Aaron Rodgers, but after further investigation, I believe the Packers can still be NFC North champions by season end for the following reasons.

The Packers have a top-10 defense.

Green Bay has studs at all the right positions on defense. They have, at worst, a top-3 CB in Jaire Alexander. They have a great pass rusher with Za’Darius Smith. They have arguably the best safety duo in the league with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. Lastly, they have one of the top NTs in the league in Kenny Clark. The only position group to worry about is the LBs as they have Kamal Martin at the top and Krys Barnes as the 2nd string. Martin was a 5th round draft pick in 2019 and Barnes was a UDFA also from the 2019 class. Looking at the DC, the Packers have finally decided to move on from Mike Pettine and hire Joe Barry. Barry is known as a sort of LB guru and has been a big part of the successful Rams’ defense of recent years. If the Packers had a top 10 defense under extremely conservative Mike Pettine, it’s more than likely it’ll be at least as good under Joe Barry. 

Green Bay has a great supporting cast on offense.

Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, Robert Tonayan, and now Amari Rodgers are going to be the focal points on this Green Bay offense. It’s fair to say that Adams is in the argument for the best receiver in the league, and Aaron Jones is in the top-10 RB conversation. Those two alone make the Green Bay offense as dangerous as it is. Robert Tonyan has only had one good year, so far, but he looked very good as a red zone threat and a chain-mover throughout all of the 2020 season. Amari Rodgers should fill the slot receiver void that has seemed to plague the Packers since the departure of Randall Cobb. Now, pair all these weapons with a top-tier OL, and you have the recipe of a high-scoring offense. We already saw the extreme success this offense had last year, and now they are another year in Lafleur’s scheme, and they have added playmakers. I would not be surprised if this was the number one scoring offense again, assuming Rodgers is back. If Rodgers is not back, it still has the makings of a top-10 offense, which is a huge step back but still very good. 

Jordan Love has shown improvement in year two

As reported by Rob Demovsky, Jordan Love has shown signs of progress and looks improved and more comfortable in year two. Specifically, Aaron Jones is the one who was quoted to have said that Love looks more comfortable. Of course, it’s very early in the 2021 season, but it’s very promising that players are already noticing a difference with Love. If he can be a serviceable starter this year, it’s not out of the question to see the Packers have a top-5 offense yet again.

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By: Jeremy Trottier

As most NFL fans know by now, Aaron Rodgers has quite a bit of disdain towards the Green Bay Packers right now for various reasons. This has led to quite the plethora of trade rumors coming out about him, as well as some of the reasons as to why he is unhappy with the Packers. In this article, I will be going over the biggest three of these reasons, as well as what made Rodgers unhappy for each issue.

Release of Jake Kumerow

This is one of the biggest reasons Rodgers has been upset with Green Bay, and honestly, it is for a valid reason besides just cutting Kumerow. The story behind this that is causing issues is that the day before GB cut Jake, Aaron was talking openly about how much he trusted and enjoyed having Jake on the team. This is what the media has been calling the boiling point that got Rodgers to where he is now in his level of annoyance with the GB management, as they blatantly broke his trust the day after he spoke of it.

This is less about Jake as a player and less about the cutting itself, but more about what it meant for them to immediately remove him off the roster less than 24 hours after Rodgers said that he trusted him. This was brought up by Trey Wingo, Pro Football Talk, and many other sources as a point of contention between Rodgers and the Packers front office.

Drafting of Jordan Love in 2020

This is probably the most well-known reason by fans as to why Rodgers wants out, and logically it makes sense. The Packers not only drafted what could be viewed as a replacement QB for Aaron but traded up to do so as well when they could have taken anything else. This is similar to the situation of them drafting Aaron while they still had Brett Favre, who then left Green Bay soon after.

The Packers WR situation outside Davante Adams is relatively mediocre at best. Getting one of the WRs left on the board at that point (i.e. Tee Higgins, Denzel Mims, Michael Pittman Jr., Chase Claypool, Laviska Shenault, etc.) would have hugely helped Rodgers in his capabilities to throw the ball. Instead, they chose to draft his position, specifically in the first round as well.

General Manager Preferences

One more issue that has been becoming more prominent as of late is the Packers choice of general manager. The Packers signed Brian Gutekunst in 2018 to be their general manager, who as of right about now Aaron Rodgers despises for the prior two reasons. There have even been reports (from Charles Robinson, Bleacher Report, and Pro Football Talk) that Rodgers wants Brian fired, and may not remain with the team if he is not fired.

On another note, reports from Bob McGinn of The Athletic even said that Rodgers mocked Gutekunst in a group text with teammates, jokingly referring to him as “Jerry Krause”. For those who do not know, this is the former manager of the Chicago Bulls who ended up killing the Bulls dynasty by getting on Michael Jordan’s bad side. If this is true to reports, that likely is not a good sign at all for this relationship in Green Bay.

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By: Josh Shippen

For about four seasons now the Packers have struggled with having weapons for Aaron Rodgers, and fans have loved to use this as the main argument to illustrate why the Packers never make it to the Super Bowl. While the Packers have had abundant success with Davante Adams who has had a pair of 1000 yard seasons along with 4 Pro Bowls and an All-Pro, their remaining receiver depth is limited. Their other 2 starters are Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard.

Valdes-Scantling is a fifth-round pick of 2018 who averages about 500 yards per season, and Allen Lazard was undrafted off of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018 and recently had a breakout season in 2018 with around 450 yards and 3 touchdowns 2 years in a row. The Packers have also draft Amari Rodgers in the third round, 85th overall which might be something that will help Rodgers out in the future. While a case could be made that this is an alright group, upgrades are definitely needed.

The tight end position has also been a position of need for a few years, the Packers have toyed around with Jimmy Graham, Marcedes Lewis, Jared Cook, Jermichael Finley, and most recently Robert Tonyan. While some like Tonyan and Finley have had their food moments, Graham and Lewis have been fairly useless and in short none of the tight ends they’ve tried have stuck.

To summarize, Aaron Rodgers has not had premium talent excluding some glory years with Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams. So why is this?

The answer is that the Packers seem to want to focus on their defense rather than their offense. The Packers spent $118 Million dollars on Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith alone. They have additionally poured $70 Million dollars into extending defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The Packers clearly think that their flaws lie solely on their defense so spending on a high-powered offense is not worth it in the grand scheme.

The next part that goes hand in hand with the last point is that Rodgers already makes all of the players around him better. There are some quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater, Alex Smith, and Derek Carr that are elevated by the players around them, and then there are players like Rodgers who are the ones who elevate the players around them. So at that point, if resources need to be contributed to the defense and Rodgers can elevate everyone around him, what need is there to pour money into offensive help?

This next argument is only a theory – It’s possible that the recent neglect of the receiver and tight end position is due to the tension between management and coaching with Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers and LaFleur/Gutekunst have been at odds ever since they got there and the failure to get Rodgers weapons might be something so simple as a petty desire to let Rodgers to maintain the elite level and not be garnered slight improvements.

There are moments where elite QBs can get their choice of weapons if it’s not a big investment. Tom Brady has gotten Antonio Brown, Drew Brees got a WR that he trained with the last offseason, but Rodgers hasn’t been as fortunate. I believe it’s mind-boggling that the Packers can retain Kevin King, their defensive front at the current price still, but they can’t find “good value” wideout for A-Rod.

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