The Packers’ wide receiver surplus — created by the team using first- and third-round selections at the position in April — generated intrigue during the offseason. Jayden Reed‘s agent discussed where the team’s top returning wideout stood in the grand scheme, and Christian Watson‘s status was murky due to the ACL tear he suffered in Week 18 of last season.
Fast-forward to mid-September, and the Packers are 2-0 without much production from first-round pick Matthew Golden. The former Houston and Texas pass catcher has two catches for 16 yards through two games. Third-rounder Savion Williams is also working as a backup. Reed’s collarbone injury (and subsequent foot surgery) brought a complication, and the team indeed had Watson in its long-term plans — as the recent one-year, $11MM extension showed.
This setup leaves only Romeo Doubs as a contract-year player in this mix. The arrivals of Golden and Williams to go with the Watson extension point Doubs out of Wisconsin by 2026, and The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman notes the Packers are believed to have discussed Doubs with teams this offseason.
Given the Packers’ injury issues at receiver right now, Doubs stands as a more important piece than he otherwise would be. Reed is out indefinitely, with a two-surgery rehab effort likely prolonging his recovery timetable, while Watson is on the reserve/PUP list. Watson may be readying to return when first eligible, but it is also quite possible the Packers give the recently paid receiver a ramp-up period after designating him for return. Indeed, Schneidman adds that Doubs is unlikely to be moved now.
I posited Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks as potential trade chips this offseason, but with the other two returning WRs down, both players are fairly important to the team’s early-season plan. Tucker Kraft looking increasingly poised for a top-market tight end extension also represents an important Packers pass-game storyline, as the third-year player may be the team’s top target while Doubs, Wicks and Golden mix in during the Reed and Watson absences.
A fourth-round pick out of Nevada in 2022, Doubs has played well in spurts for a Packers team that has rolled with an egalitarian setup at receiver post-Davante Adams. Doubs eclipsed 600 yards in each of the past two seasons, scoring eight touchdowns in 2023 and adding four last year. Last season did bring a one-game team-imposed suspension after Doubs expressed frustration about his role. But he reemerged as a solid auxiliary Jordan Love target in the weeks that followed. The Steelers’ George Pickens trade loosely tied them to Doubs, due to his rookie-year overlap with Aaron Rodgers, but nothing came of it.
With Reed, Wicks, Golden, Williams and now Watson signed beyond this season, Doubs would appear to be auditioning for other teams this year. Among first-time UFAs at receiver, the 6-foot-2 weapon would join Pickens, Jauan Jennings, Rashid Shaheed, Wan’Dale Robinson, Alec Pierce and Jalen Tolbert as notable options. Though, veterans like Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Jakobi Meyers are also noncontracted for 2026. The Packers and Doubs would benefit from another productive season, even if this partnership appears unlikely to continue beyond this year.