Green Bay Packers Select 3 New Offensive Weapons in the 2022 NFL Draft

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Lambeau Field home of the Green Bay Packers
Photo Credit: Ken Lund

The Green Bay Packers organization had many questions going into the 2022 offseason: Will two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers return to the Green Bay Packers? Will the Packers franchise tag star wide receiver, Davante Adams? Will the Packers address wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft? What players will be let go from the Packers to get under the salary cap?

By the middle of March, a lot of those questions were answered. Aaron Rodgers signed an extension that could keep him on the team for up to five years if he wanted. Adams did receive a franchise tag but was eventually traded to the Raiders for both a first-round pick and a second-round pick in the 2022 draft. Adams showed frustration with the organization dating back to last offseason where he wanted to be the highest paid wide receiver in the league. Letting Adams go helped bring back key players like TE Robert Tonyan and DB Rasul Douglas while also opening the door to bring in free agents like P Pat O’Donnell, DT Jarran Reed, WR Sammy Watkins and DB Keisean Nixon.

“There was no way the Packers could’ve afforded Adams,” Allen Sommerfeldt, a 70-year-old sports fan from New Berlin, Wisconsin said. “I’m just glad they got something in return for Adams rather than just letting him go. We can never replace Adams, but with what we got for him, we sure can try.”

But who is Aaron Rodgers going to throw the ball to? Before the Watkins signing, Rodgers’s top three wide outs were Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers. The Packers lost Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown and Malik Taylor to free agency who have been part of the team in more productive roles over the last few seasons.

With a huge need at wide receiver, the Packers used three of their 11 picks in the 2022 NFL draft on the position bringing in Christian Watson from North Dakota St, Romeo Doubs from Nevada, and Samori Toure from Nebraska. With two first-round picks, fans thought that they would address their biggest need.

Christian Watson

After selecting LB Quay Walker and DT Devonte Wyatt with their two first-round picks, the Packers traded both their second round picks to move up in the draft taking Christian Watson, 22 with the 34th overall pick in the draft. Packers fans like Jesse Lehman, 40, were satisfied with the pick.

“I remember jumping up a down at work with my coworkers,” Lehman said. “I got a lot of strange looks from the customers, but I just couldn’t hide my excitement. He reminds me so much of ‘Megatron’ Calvin Johnson.”

It has now been 20 years since the Packers last drafted a wide receiver in the first round. Despite that, the Packers have found a lot of success drafting receivers in the later rounds. These receivers include recently traded Adams, Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Greg Jennings and Cobb whose still with the team. The newly acquired receivers have a chance to do the same.

Watson, measured at 6-foot-4, was considered “one of the most explosive receivers at the FCS level” according to Chad Reuter on NFL.com. According to ESPN, in his collegiate career, Watson had 104 receptions for 2,134 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has experience running the ball as well as kick returns on the special teams.

With the Packers, Watson could be used as the big wide receiver on the outside who can stretch the field like how Valdez-Scantling did when he was on the team. He is a great combination of size and speed. The only concern was the difficulty of the teams he faced in his college division and if it can translate into the NFL. He does have a dropping problem but so did both Adams and Valdes-Scantling. If he can handle the transition, he can end up being a key weapon for the Packers in the future.

Romeo Doubs

Most of the returns could end up being used with WR Romeo Doubs out of Nevada who was drafted in the fourth round at the 132nd pick. This was the Packers first of two fourth-round picks. On his very first touch in his college career, he returned an 80 yard punt for a touchdown.

As for the rest of his career, he had 463 return yards in 39 attempts averaging 11.9 yards per attempt according to his college stats on ESPN. One of the weaknesses for the Packers are special teams. The Packers did hire former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia who specializes in special teams.

As for Doubs offensive numbers, his productivity improved each year having a total of 225 receptions for 3,322 yards with 26 touchdowns. According to Lance Zierlein’s analysis of Doubs on NFL.com, his limited routes could cause struggles from a man coverage and NFL press. Even with great size and speed at 6-foot-2, he should best be seen as a backup or a specialist in special teams.

Doubs on the Packers could give him more opportunities as a pass catcher to show his skills. He may be a work in progress but expect him to see some playing time alongside Watson, Lazard and Watkins.

Samori Toure

With their final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Packers tripled down on wide receiver grabbing the 6-foot-3 from Nebraska, Samori Toure with the 258th overall pick in the seventh round. Toure ran a 4.44 40-yard dash which is fast for a man his size. Like the other receivers the Packers selected, Toure has experience on special teams.

Toure had the most production when he was with Montana where he had 124 receptions for 1,935 yards in two years. During his first year, he had 21 kick returns for 379 yards averaging 16.5 yards and 15 touchdowns. He opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed football activities in 2021 after he transferred to Nebraska. As part of the Cornhuskers, he had 898 receiving yards in 46 receptions and five touchdowns. He even had some rushing attempts having 63 yards in 8 attempts and one touchdown.

The wide receivers the Packers drafted have a lot in common. They are all taller receivers that have decent speed and have some sort of experience on special teams. The Packers managed to address two of their needs at one position. Although the Packers didn’t draft a wideout in the first round, they managed to draft multiple receivers with the potential to help both the offense and the special teams.

There’s no guarantee that any of these players can work out for the Packers. Lots of fans have a lot of high hopes for the Packers draft class as they see a lot of promise for the Packers future.

“It’s definitely a crap shoot,” Sommerfeldt said. “The Packers had one of the best drafts in a while. I’m excited to see this new class of rookies for the first time in the green and gold.”

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Even with lots of praise from fans, we won’t know how well the Packers 2022 NFL Draft class will be. The rookies have four years to prove their worth before becoming free agents. We will see the newbies and all the Green Bay Packers in action during the NFL Preseason in August.