Departure of Adams, Valdes-Scantling, and St. Brown leave big holes and big questions
A lot has happened this off-season. The retention of Aaron Rodgers may be the biggest move, but trading his number one target from the past few seasons is at least 1b in that list. Rodgers had expressed prior to committing to return that Marquez Valdes-Scantling (MVS) was someone he wished the Packers to retain. This failed to come to fruition, however, when MVS signed a 3 year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, just after Equanimeous St. Brown (ESB) reunited with Packers former position coach, Luke Getsy, in Chicago.
It’s been reported by other sources that these three represented more than 40% of Green Bay’s offensive passing yards in the 2021. Who is currently left in the Packers’ WR room? According to Packers.com, the players listed as WR designation are as follows:
Juwann Winfree: #88 (No, not that one) Winfree appeared in 9 games for the Packers in the past 2 seasons. He has contributed 8 receptions and 58 yards.
Amari Rodgers: #8 Drafted in 2021 as a Randall Cobb-type slot receiver, Rodgers recorded 4 receptions for 45 yards. A very small contribution for a greater hope for last year’s rookie season, Amari was also used on ST for both kickoffs and punt returns with mixed results; 199 yards on KO and 166 on punts with 2 fumbles.
Rico Gafford: (No number #0) The Packers signed Gafford on January 26th from on a future/reserve contract. Rico has been on several teams including the Titans, Cardinals, Bills, and most recently, the Broncos. His only career stats come from a stint on the Las Vegas Raiders, where being active in games over 3 seasons, he accrued 2 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Randall Cobb: #18 Randall Cobb came home to Green Bay as a special request by Aaron Rodgers. Last season he missed some games due to injury as this has sadly been his calling card. Last season, Cobb amassed 28 receptions for 375 yards and 5 touchdowns and he made some memorable and key 3rd down conversions as he did many times in his first stint in Green Bay. I’ll never forget his debut KO return TD in 2011 versus the Saints, or 4th and 8 in Chicago in 2013, or his Hail Mary catch against the Giants January 8, 2017 (I was in attendance for this one). Aaron Rodgers once noted, “The Packers are better with Randall Cobb on the field.”
Chris Blair: #16 The Packers signed Blair on January 25th to a reserve/future contract. Undrafted in 2020, Blair spent time at Packers training camp, but was waived August 26th, 2021 and was later brought in and cut from the practice squad. He has no professional career stats. Blair attended Alcorn St.
Trading away superstar Davante Adams was a genius move for cap management, but what happens now? Rumor has it, Allen Lazard is returning, but short of that, Randall Cobb is the only experienced receiver on the depth chart. Brian Gutekunst has repeatedly said he will be in every conversation with free agents, player acquisition, and team roster improvements and his track record thus far has proven him a man of his word.
With as much draft capital as the Packers have this year, there are a lot of ways fill up the room. There don’t seem to be a lot of free agent wide receivers that scream to be targeted by the Packers’ front office. Unsigned top 5 listed by several sources are: OBJ, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry, and Will Fuller V. I see a list that says, “Keep scrolling.” Well, maybe Jarvis Landry, depending on price.
Fortunately, this is touted to be yet another strong draft class for receivers. With 11 picks, the Packers have an opportunity to scattershot or package picks and trade to bolster the wide receiving corps.
