I don't care if there's a true #1 either. The #1 thing I care about in the passing game is that the receiver catches the damn ball.

The receiver that is open is the number 1

A year ago, I didn't think they needed a #1 receiver, but after watching the passing game fail to establish any real flow for an entire season, I'm not so sure. I hope they don't need a #1 because it's probably too early for Matthew Golden to be that guy this year, and I don't think the others are capable of it.

Cory couldn't be more wrong about the Packers not valuing the wide receiver position. People make too big a deal out of first round picks. The Packers drafted several receivers in the second round, some of whom were first round caliber players. No need to explain further, as that was probably just Cory trying to get people riled up.

"And let’s not forget Jayden Reed, who in my opinion was the team’s most formidable weapon last year and a reason why they should not have picked a receiver first. Reed racked up 410 yards after the catch last year and a contested catch percentage of 69.2."

Hey I like Reed A LOT. I liked him even more when he played so well his first two seasons after some of those so called "Draft Experts" actually graded the Reed selections as a D. But I have to remember what happened last season when they needed him the most. He all but DISAPEARRED the last few games of the year.

Right now Cory is right, who cares who's the #1 WR, it doesn't matter...YET. I've always looked at Reed as a solid #2. Whether he's a #1 or a #2 WR, the important thing is he plays well and is a great teammate which I think Reed is.

Who is the number 1 or 2 WR will work itself out. Hell, it may be Tucker Kraft, Reed or Golden. Personally I think this offense is ready to EXPLODE. This will be one of those offenses that has so many weapons, so much skill at the skill positions, defenses are going to have to worry if they have enough defenders to even slow them down. It's all coming together...GO PACK GO!!

Cory, YES I totally agree with you...Your on a roll! Who cares, just put up a ton of points.

I completely agree about the Number 1 thing. Who cares. It doesn't matter... Except it actually kind of does matter. I'm not saying it matters that 1 guy gets 150 targets, catches 100 passes and has 1000 yards. That part doesn't matter. What matters is that defenses need to fear someone. When Watson was on the field, defenses feared him. He opened up the offense for others because defenses constantly had 2 guys with eyes on Watson at all times. Losing Watson changes the offense. They didn't have anyone else that could put fear in the defense as in anyone that can beat them deep.

That now has changed after drafting Golden. We don't know what his role in the offense will be and we won't know how fast he will be a big time contributor, but he will get a lot of playing time. And he is a guy who can put fear into defenses with his speed. He will force safety's to play deep over the top. We will have to see what kind of production Golden will have as a rookie, but his presence will be felt until Watson is back. And when Watson gets back, they could be a lethal combo.

I really like our WR group. But we need some guys to step up this year. Reed and Wicks had a lot of drops. Doubs had too many as well and we don't know where his mindset is after last year and drafting a couple of WR's high this year.

Reed fell off towards the end of the year. Through the first 9 games (before the bye), he had 36 catches, 620 yards receiving, 17.2 average. The final 8 games (after the bye), he had 19 catches, 237 yards, 12.5 average. In the first 9 games he had 3 100+ yard games. 0 the last 8. He had 6 games of 50+ yards the first 9. He had 1 of 50+ in the last 8 games.

While Reed fell off in the 2nd half of the year Wicks improved. He went from 16 catches and 162 yards to 23 catches and 223 yards.

There is a lot of stuff to figure out but we will get there.

I learned something in The Corner today. Billy Schroeder led the Packers in receiving yards for two consecutive seasons; 2000 and 2001. That nugget should win you a bar bet or two. How quickly we ( or, I guess, I) forget.

We do not need a number 1 WR. What we need is for our WRs to stop all being WR 3s. The one WR who might have taken a positive step last year (if a relatively small one) was Watson, who may not be a contributor till late if at all. In his absence it became clear that we don’t have a true X who can stretch the field (ignore bunch set categorization).

Of the others, Reed struggles away from the slot (as illustrated by post Watson usage) and Doubs pretty much plateaued. Wicks both couldn’t catch reliably and seemed unable to make plays once he had like he did the prior year. We could not find an effective substitute for Doubs in either Reed or Wicks.

Now we have a small but super fast Y/slot primarily in Golden and a big raw X/Gadget/big slot. Given that Reed needs to get back to slot play, it’s going to be interesting to see how LaFleur juggles those players to get more than one contributing on the same play in a way that enables them to make a difference. Unless we can we will not solve the problem. No matter how good a player is, few thrive if there’s only one in a role he excels at.

It’s also going to be very interesting seeing how targets are spread. Surely we want Kraft playing a big role. We need to reintegrate Musgrave (or move on). If Doubs is healthy, does Golden take some his snaps mostly or just pop up and take plays from all of them? Golden isn’t physically going to do the dirty work Doubs does at this point or block like Watson, so who will? Williams is going to have a steep learning curve to block effectively.

Having a big target WR doesn’t really matter unless he goes deep with our TE options. Having speed alone seldom works without help from another threat to make the coverage hesitate. In 3 WR sets, that was never there unless Reed and Watson were out there together. We saw that last year. LaFleur doesn’t run 4 WRs to pair 2 smaller speedsters optimally.

It seems to me that we don’t just need our existing WRs to step up, we have to work out a better way to get complimentary talents out there together and in appropriate roles. That’s going to be a real challenge with the mix of types and the way this offense has worked in recent years, especially with the increased focus on the run.

LaFleur is going to have to show his oft vaunted ingenuity to make this group effective and balance getting our best performers opportunities without just rotating in everyone enough to keep them happy. Getting our best current mix out there predominantly is going to take some courage and likely ruffle some feathers.

At some point, the best players need to demand snaps and what we need is for them to do so and get them this year. Last year no one really did, especially after Reed started playing less slot snaps. We don’t need a 1 but we need a bunch of 2s if not. Last year our best target might have been Kraft, and he was criminally under used as a pure route runner.

There is no #1 receiver as no player wears #1

Last year at this time everyone was talking how all these young WRs where going to break out. Now they used 2 of their top 3 picks on this year on the position again. Whether they have a true #1 or not doesn't really matter but what does is that they become one of the more dynamic groups in the league because they have spent more than enough draft capital. If we are sitting here in a year or two talking about WRs the team will be in real trouble.

Yes, let's just line up and throw the ball to whoever gets open, just like we did on the playground, years ago. Let's not have a plan, or a scheme to get certain guys open. Let's just figure it out on the fly, and change it from week to week, depending on the opponent. That sounds like a winner to me.

" the Packers have taken in the first round. James Lofton in 1978, Sterling Sharpe in 1988, Javon Walker in 2002 and Golden in 2025. That says two things: 1. The Packers have been historically good at developing wide receivers. The best example of that is Donald Driver who turned the tables by being a seventh round draft pick in 1999 to being one of the best wideouts in Packers history. 2. It really doesn’t value the wide receiver position."

A couple things...
1. The Packers played the majority of the last 35 years with HOF QBs--two of the best QBs to ever play the game--guys you could expect to help elevate the guys they were throwing to. We can ask how much they made the complementary WR they played with better, or whether the Packers were outstanding at finding hidden gems to play with those QBs, but the fact that the only WR of the era that went on to play at a high level somewhere else seems to be Davante Adams points to the QB elevating WR argument.
2. If your generational QBs are turning complementary WR into valuable pieces through their arm and mental talent, is it really devaluing the position to rely on the QB to continue to elevate the players around them? 2022 seems to be the prime example and why they cut the cord on 12: "hey ARod, here's a bunch of role-player WRs. We just gave you a big contract to go make some chicken salad." He couldn't do it anymore.

Is Jordan Love a generational talent? I think the answer is a plain "no". I like him as being a top 10 or so QB in the league, but he still struggles with accuracy and decision making at times. How do you account for a QB who's only good, but not a generational talent? You bring in a higher level of player around them...you find better WRs and OL. You run the football to hold defenses in check.

I'm going to argue that the Golden and Williams picks are directed attempts to prop up a QB and an offense that needs a higher level of talent at the skill positions in general to--in return--make it easier for the QB to elevate his play.

As a position group the Packers receiving corps needs to improve this season. Specifically they need to run their routes better and they need to catch the ball.
Beyond that it really doesn't matter if the Packers have a #1 receiver or who that is.

Other factors include an improved OL for the passing game and a healthy Jordan Love. Love played through injuries last season and the injuries had an impact on his mobility, his mechanics and his accuracy. Hopefully he remains healthy for the entire season.

Bottom line, an improved OL gives Love more time and gives the receivers more time to get separation. Add in that an improved OL delivers an effective ground game which in turn makes play action more effective. It starts with the OL and ends with the receiver catching the ball regardless of who is or isn't the #1 receiver.
Thanks, Since '61

MLF is the "anti-coach"? How so? I'm not sure I agree with this unless you can offer some detailed examples. Jeez, every coach "just wants to win," so I'm interested in hearing how MLF's philosophy differs from others in this regard.

Also you can call it whatever you want, such as a #1, but I think the quarterback values a receiver he can count on in the clutch. It doesn't even have to be a receiver, but a tight end who can run the right route, consistently get open, and make the catch when it's most needed.

The Packers don't have a true #1 WR, and can't even name one from the group they have, and Love is not able to create one. The real issue is that Love needs a true #1 to make him live up to the hype bestowed upon him, and I'm not sure if even that would place him in elite status, less the contract that says he has to be seen as one. A huge reason why I was against that contract, Half year success should never dictate full year success money. A QB earning that money needs to elevate others, not remain JAGS.

Cory's assessment of LaFleur: "He doesn’t care what people think of him. He just wants to win."

I agree Matt wants to win. His overall record as a HC is ample evidence for that.

I disagree he doesn't care what people think of him...I believe he does and is very status quo. The "people" are the Football committee and his staff and players.

He currently reports to Murphy (hope that changes with Ed) and most certainly cares what he thinks. He is very slow to make personnel changes and I believe he had to be pushed to fire ST coaches, Barry, and move on from Rodgers. I also believe he is enamored with his young WR talent (aren't we all? Just stop the drops!) and shares the targets to them because he cares what they think about their roles in the O. See Doubs.

LaFleur is a hard working, creative, and incredibly even tempered, cool man under fire. His weakness, in my view, is personnel management. Making changes with people is very difficult and incredibly necessary. He is who he is.