The Big Lead

The Packers are one elite receiver away from being a Super Bowl contender

It's been a few years since Davonte Adams left Green Bay, so it's time to fill that void.

By Matt Reed

Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) rushes the ball against Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) during the second half in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) rushes the ball against Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) during the second half in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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The Green Bay Packers are a perennial playoff contender, which was shown once again in 2024 when they reached the postseason under head coach Matt LafFeur. However, the Packers haven't been able to reach the next milestone because of a glaring vacancy on the offseason side of the football.

It's been several years now since Green Bay traded Davonte Adams away to the Las Vegas Raiders, and even though the Packers have done a tremendous job drafting young weapons to surround quarterback Jordan Love, they haven't seemed to find the number one option that Love can rely on consistently.

The team invested heavily in running back this past offseason by bringing in a younger replacement for Aaron Jones, who moved on to the Minnesota Vikings, and Josh Jacobs' presence was massive in the ground game. That's why Jacobs even believes that a "number one wide receiver" is all that's needed for the Packers to truly contend in the NFC.

Some of his Packers teammates didn't seem to take his comments too kindly, particularly Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, who sounded off on X Wednesday.

Look at the rest of the NFC as it's currently comprised though and it's easy to see that many of the elite teams in the conference have stellar wide receiver groups.

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The Philadelphia Eagles have a dangerous duo of A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. The Vikings have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. The Detroit Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. The Los Angeles Rams have Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

There's a common theme between those teams, which is that all of them possess high-caliber receiving options and that makes them extremely dangerous in the passing attack.

Green Bay certainly has weapons, whether it's Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Dontayvion Wicks or Romeo Doubs, but none of them have proven that they can be a deadly force when the game is on the line.

Perhaps this year's free agency class would be a good place for the Packers to start, especially with a player like Tee Higgins available as the Cincinnati Bengals decide if they can afford to lock him up to a long-term contract.

Veterans like Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs and Chris Godwin are all viable options as well, unless Green Bay has conviction in trading for another pass catcher currently on another squad. No matter how you look at the situation though, the Packers still need help in the receiving game and nothing Jacobs said was wrong.

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