Even though their furious rally on Sunday came up short, the Packers’ offense looked excellent in the wake of Jordan Love’s ($6,500) return on Sunday against the Vikings. The passing attack did take a hit, though, when Christian Watson (ankle) was forced to leave before scoring a fantasy point. In his absence, Dontayvion Wicks ($5,000) stepped up with a huge game, and he could be more involved in the next few weeks based on the latest on Watson:
Even though he appears to have avoided a season-ending injury or even a fracture, Watson continues to struggle with durability concerns and is likely headed for IR, which means he will miss at least four weeks.
Coming into the season, Dontayvion Wicks got some sleeper buzz after catching 39 passes for 581 yards and four touchdowns last year in his rookie season. He was drafted in the fifth round out of Virginia and came in the same draft with Jayden Reed ($6,500) just a year after the Packers drafted Romeo Doubs ($5,400) and Watson, giving the Packers a deep young receiving corps.
Doubs and Watson have struggled with injuries, but Reed and Wicks seem to be ready to take a second-year leap. Reed is already the No. 2 WR in all of fantasy football this year and Wicks looks ready to step up on the other side of the field.
On Sunday, Wicks drew a massive 13 targets and hauled in five catches for 78 yards. His 24.8 fantasy points were the fourth-highest of any receiver in Week 4 (coming into Monday night’s doubleheader).
Wicks has only reached a 70% route participation or higher in three games, and he went off for big games in all three of those contests, with two coming at the end of last season and one this past week. He led the team in target share and air yards share.
Not only did he catch two touchdowns, but he came very close to snagging two more scores with a drop in the third quarter and a near-miss on the Packers’ first possession of the game. The drops were brutal, but it also shows he has even more potential if he can clean those up moving forward.
I have him ranked as my No. 24 WR this week and think he makes a great WR2 in this favorable matchup with the Rams. The Rams have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing WRs, and the Packers will be looking to get back on the right side of .500 after dropping to 2-2 on Sunday.
For as long as Watson is out, Wicks should get plenty of chances to make plays for the Packers. With Love under center, we saw how dynamic they can be in the second half on Monday. Look for big things from Wicks in the coming weeks.
The Packers are 3.5-point road favorites this week with the over/under set at 48. After their 2-2 start, Green Bay is +115 to make the playoffs and +1200 to win the NFC.
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