First Round Wide Receivers Targets For Green Bay Packers NFL Draft 2022: Drake London, Treylon Burks, George Pickens?

The Packers opting to trade away Davante Adams was a surprising plot twist to this NFL offseason, and it has left Green Bay with one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the league. While the Packers haven’t typically invested in the wide receiver position with premium draft picks, they will likely have to this year if they want to field a productive passing offense and support Aaron Rodgers. There are a handful of great options for the team to consider, including a potential trade-up for a perfect fit in the offense, and in this article, I’ll break down the top options in the draft for the Packers.

What Can We Learn from Past Packers Drafts?

The Green Bay Packers aren’t typically a team that spends premium picks on wide receivers. You have to go all the way back to 2002, when current general manager Brian Gutekunst was a 28-year-old scout for the team, to find the last time the Packers spent a first-round pick on a wideout. That player was Javon Walker.

Since Gutekunst took over as general manager in 2018, the Packers have only selected a wide receiver with a Day 1 or Day 2 pick once – Amari Rodgers last year. That’s despite having 13 Day 1 and Day 2 picks over that span and consistently having a need at wide receiver despite the presence of Adams.

With a handful of drafts under his belt, we know enough about Brian Gutekunst to see that he subscribes to similar thresholds and preferences to his mentor, former Packers General Manager Ted Thompson. Let’s take a look at the thresholds Gutekunst and Thompson care about.

Size Matters – the Packers Don’t Draft Small Wideouts

Thompson and Gutekunst have always preferred younger prospects who are elite athletes with good size, and those thresholds could see a handful of top options off the board for them in this draft. In Gutekunst’s first year as general manager, he selected three wide receivers who were all over 6’2”. Last year, he drafted Amari Rodgers who is 5’11”, but the Packers view him as a versatile offensive weapon in a similar mold as former draft pick Ty Montgomery.

In addition to the size thresholds, the Packers have not drafted a wide receiver with a 3-cone time slower than 7.08 seconds since 2008. They also prefer receivers who run faster than a 4.55-second 40-yard dash, with Davante Adams and J’Mon Moore the only recent exceptions. While the Packers may not utilize Relative Athletic Scores, the vast majority of Gutekunst’s selections have fallen in the range of 8-10 in RAS.

Finally, the Packers tend to care about the age of draft prospects as they haven’t selected a player older than 23 in the first round in the Gutekunst era, with the average age of first-round prospects being 21.56 years old. Eric Stokes was the team’s oldest first-round selection at 22 years old, but he just turned 23 in March of this year.

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft Targets

With the Packers’ typical draft preferences and thresholds in mind, let’s look at a list of players who will realistically be on their big board.

First, I’m ruling out anyone who will be 23 years old by the start of next season. Despite having the size and athleticism the Packers typically look for, Christian Watson will be 23 on May 12. Justyn Ross, Jalen Tolbert, and Calvin Austin are all on the older side as well, and you can expect the Packers to look elsewhere in the middle rounds.

Next, I’m ruling out any wide receiver under 6’0”. Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave narrowly make the cut but could be ruled out by the team’s management, while Jahan Dotson, Skyy Moore, John Metchie, and Wan’Dale Robinson are likely off the board for Green Bay.

With those names off the board, the Packers are likely choosing between six wide receivers in the first round – Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Chris Olave, George Pickens, and Treylon Burks. Wilson and Olave are on the fringe of the size thresholds this team usually has, so they are less likely targets for the Packers.

Could Green Bay Trade Up for Drake London?

If the Packers have their eyes set on Drake London, they would likely need to make a trade up the draft board to acquire the USC product. London fits many of the traits Green Bay likes in receivers, and they also have plenty of draft capital to engineer a move up. Since becoming the GM, there has only been one draft where the Packers haven’t traded up, so the move wouldn’t be unprecedented.

Drake London is arguably the best receiver at the catch point in this draft class, and it’s easy to see Aaron Rodgers enjoying that skill set as he launches nukes downfield to the young wideout. London is a bigger receiver who isn’t necessarily the high-end athlete someone like Wilson or Williams is in this class. Still, his ability to generate YAC is underrated as he’s a smooth route-runner with sneaky agility and tackle-breaking power.

Using the draft capital trade chart from drafttek.com, we can calculate various options for the Packers to trade up. London is a likely top-ten pick, so Green Bay could move #22 and #28 in the first round to the Jets for their #10 overall selection. With so much great depth in this class, the Jets could be enticed by a move down.

Alternatively, if London slides a bit due to injury concerns, the Packers could move #22 and #53 in the second round for a pick in the early teens, such as the Texans at #13 or the Ravens at #14. London fits the mold of a Packers receiver at 6’4”, 220 lbs, and 20 years old, and while he didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the combine, his elite athleticism flashes on film.

Treylon Burks or George Pickens?

If the Packers opt not to trade up in the draft, they could be choosing between Georgia’s George Pickens and Arkansas’s Treylon Burks at the back of the first round. Both receivers have impressive physical profiles and high-upside projections in the NFL, and each comes with their own set of question marks.

Treylon Burks, Arkansas: At 6’2”, 225 lbs, Burks certainly fits the size thresholds the Packers have, especially with his incredible 33.5-inch arms, which rank among the longest in this class. Burks had an impressive 73.9% catch rate last year, but much of his production was schemed up as he saw 77% of his snaps inside the slot. His ability to consistently beat press coverage remains a significant question mark, especially as he would be asked to profile as an outside X-receiver far more often in the NFL.

Some NFL fans had D.K. Metcalf-level expectations at the combine for Treylon Burks, and that was always an overestimation of his athleticism. However, Burks’s 4.55-second 40-yard dash puts him right on the threshold for what the Packers typically target. His 7.28-second 3-cone was also in the ninth percentile for wide receivers per MockDraftable, and that’s typically well outside the range the Packers draft. However, Matt LaFleur would be able to unlock his unique skillset, and from a fantasy football perspective, Burks would be an elite asset with Aaron Rodgers.

George Pickens, Georgia: At 6’3”, 200 lbs, Pickens could stand to add some more muscle to his frame, but it’s unfair to use that as a criticism as he’s working his way back from an ACL tear. The bigger concern with Pickens would be his relative lack of production in college – he had 49 catches for 727 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman but never regained that elite level in a COVID-shortened 2020 and an injury-shortened 2021. Some teams may also have concerns about his ninth-percentile hands at 8 3/4”, but I see him as a natural receiver with quality hands.

However, with a 4.47-second 40-yard dash and a 125” broad jump, it’s easy to see why he’s rising up draft boards. Pickens perhaps rates only behind Drake London as a contested-catch wide receiver, and I loved the resolve he showed as he battled back from the torn ACL to be a part of Georgia’s championship run. Pickens also profiles as a strong blocker, which the Packers covet in their wide receivers. It’s easy to see Pickens as a phenomenal fit in Green Bay’s offense.

Second-Round Wide Receivers To Possibly Land In Green Bay

It would be somewhat surprising to see the Packers leave the first round without a wide receiver, but if the board doesn’t fall the way they want, they could be in the market in the second round. The Packers could also double up at the position with four picks in the first two rounds. Let’s take a quick look at some potential second-round targets:

Alec Pierce, Cincinnati: I was mocking Pierce to the Packers in the second round before the Davante Adams trade as I see him as an excellent fit for what the team looks for in the position. At 6’3”, 211 lbs, Pierce is a big-bodied receiver who excels at the catch point with body control and play strength. Pierce doesn’t have a highly advanced route tree, but his vertical and broad jumps were above the 90th percentile, and his 4.41-second 40-yard dash was impressive for his size.

David Bell, Purdue: Bell finds himself at an interesting intersection between collegiate production and athleticism. He had 232 catches for just under 3,000 yards in three collegiate seasons, including over 1,000 yards as a freshman, while playing against high-level competition in the Big Ten. However, his athletic testing was highly disappointing in virtually every area other than size. Bell reminds me of a former Packers wideout James Jones who was not a high-level athlete but was highly productive in the NFL, and the team could look in his direction in the middle rounds.

Justyn Ross, Clemson: I don’t currently have Ross graded as a second-round pick due to his lack of proven production and medical issues, but the Packers could take a flier on him if they decide to double-dip at receiver. Ross has excellent quickness and wins at the catch point with size and strength, so it’s easy to see him as a quality fit in the Green Bay offense. Ross isn’t an elite speed guy, but he had 1,000 yards as a freshman in the ACC and has more potential to unlock in the NFL.