The Green Bay Packers surprised everyone in the 2023-24 NFL playoffs by running up the score on the higher-seeded Dallas Cowboys. In that contest, we saw a glimpse of things to come in the Jordan Love era of Packers football. Green Bay’s offense remains mostly the same outside of RB Josh Jacobs entering the fold. The Packers go into 2024-25 with one of the more promising young receiving cores in the NFL. The issue is Matt LaFleur could opt to spread the Love around (pun intended), making it difficult to get a gauge on which WR will be the most valuable in fantasy football. We’re going to take in all the factors and help you decide which Packers’ wideout to target in all formats.
Fantasy football: What to do with Packers wide receivers
PPR
First, we must establish the four wide receivers, that being Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks. Sure, Bo Melton could get some run if injuries pop up after his impressive stretch to end last season. But for now, the four listed first are who we should be considering in most 12+ team fantasy football leagues this offseason.
According to a few sources for ADP and mostly aggregating from ESPN, Yahoo and Sleeper, Reed is going first in drafts among this group. He’s mostly falling in the 34-40 range in terms of PPR WRs. With injuries to Watson last season, Reed emerged as the top wideout for Love, finishing with 64 catches on 94 targets for 793 yards and eight TDs. Reed had 335 yards after the catch and did all of this while getting pretty inconsistent snap numbers throughout his rookie season. Counting all games last season, Reed only exceeded 60% of the snaps in eight games (including the playoffs). He also never played more than 78% of the snaps in a single game.
The fact Reed led the team in a handful of important receiving categories as a rookie while getting inconsistent usage is why he’s the first Packers WR off the board in most drafts. There’s a good chance Reed can jump both Watson and Doubs on the depth chart and be Love’s No. 1 target in the passing game. Assuming Love throws for over 4,000 yards and 30 TDs again, that would put Reed in a very good spot as a sleeper heading into this season.
Should Reed be the first Packers WR selected in PPR?
Based on ADP, there’s more value in going with the more veteran options in Watson and Doubs. Watson hasn’t been able to stay healthy, but if he can string together a full season, could be in store for a breakout in 2024-25. Watson remains nothing more than a deep threat, but the Packers could use a lot of play-action this season with Jacobs in the backfield. In just about half a season in 2023-24, Watson had 28 catches for 422 yards and five TDs (most coming toward the end of the regular season). The big knock on Watson if he can put it all together is he isn’t a volume catcher. For PPR, Watson would need to rack up a ton of yards and score TDs to make up for the lack of catches. And that brings us to Doubs.
Doubs is probably my favorite of the four wideouts for fantasy football based on track record and ADP. He’s barely being drafted among the top-60 wide receivers in PPR fantasy football so far. Doubs is entering his third season in the offense and has improved in each of his first two seasons. He led the Packers in targets with 96, just ahead of Reed, last season. He was tied with Reed for the team lead in receiving TDs with eight. Doubs led all Packers skill position players in first downs. He’s looking like Green Bay’s top possession receiver, which will give him good value in PPR. Doubs also led Packers’ WRs in snaps by a wide margin; he had 938 while Reed had 645 last season.
Doubs’ upside is No. 1 WR on what could be a top-5 offense. Does any other receiver being drafted in his range offer that type of upside? Probably not. Assuming Doubs takes another step forward, it’s not crazy to suggest he could catch between 70-80 passes for 800-1,000 yards and 8-10 TDs. Those types of numbers could land Doubs among the top-25 WRs in PPR fantasy. Chances are Doubs has his weeks and lands somewhere in the top-40. But he’s still be underrated in drafts and is a nice sleeper to target late.
What’s their draft order in dynasty and keeper formats?
Reed. Dynasty and keeper leagues the clear top choice is Reed, followed Watson, Doubs and Wicks. Maybe you weigh Wicks a bit higher since he’s in his second year and is the youngest of the bunch. Reed and Doubs are both 24 while Watson is 25 and has two years left before becoming a free agent (same with Doubs). Watson’s situation for dynasty/keeper leagues is the most shaky. Forget the injuries but he could be on another team come next season. The Packers may not want to pay whatever the franchise tag is on Watson and could opt to trade him while he still has some value.
The order should go Reed, Doubs, Wicks and Watson for dynasty formats, especially when taking into account ADP.
What to do in standard formats?
In standard season-long, Watson is probably the most appealing option given his ceiling when healthy. He’s a home-run ball type of wideout and the Packers could stretch the field quite a bit in this offense. Receptions won’t matter and if Watson can stay healthy, his upside if over 1,000 receiving yards and 10+ TDs. It’s just always going to be a dice roll with Watson’s health. Doubs and Reed are pretty close for me in standard formats. Doubs was one of Love’s favorite red-zone targets. Reed has a knack for big plays. If Watson can’t stay healthy again, Doubs and Reed should be pretty close in terms of targets and snaps. The distance between Doubs and Wicks also shrinks in non-PPR formats. Wicks has the lowest ceiling but should have an OK floor for a fourth receiver.
Final Thoughts
Personally, I think Doubs is the best value among the group. He may not have the playmaking ability of Reed or Watson but has shown consistent growth and could be the top receiving option out the gate. If nothing else, we know Doubs and Watson should start and get the majority of the snaps. Based on ADP and opportunity I love Doubs.
A lot of which way to go depends on who you draft prior. If you have good WR depth, I like taking a shot with Watson. Reed feels like he’s being overvalued a bit but could be a second-year breakout candidate and take over as the No. 1 WR. If Reed drops past his ADP a round or two, that feels like the spot to pounce. Wicks feels like a good best ball option late in drafts. He’s an injury away from getting more opportunity and we know what he did with it this past season.
Regardless of who I like or you like, it makes a lot of sense to get a piece of this Packers offense. If all parts improve, it could be very, very dynamic. While Love should spread things around a bit, you won’t be mad when one of those WRs pops in a big week when you need it.
