The newly shaped Green Bay Packers roster has many young players who are ready to make their breakthrough and burst onto the scene. With their offense being much younger and less experienced, they have multiple guys who can be ready to take that leap to the next level. It’s only a matter of who will be that guy. Their defense also has some players ready to fill voids and being put into the position to have a break out kind of season. It’ll be interesting to see which guys take that leap and are ready to fill some holes.
1. Christian Watson – Wide Receiver
Packers WR Christian Watson (9) – Matt Ludtke/AP Photo
2022 Stats: 66 receptions, 611 yards, seven TDs; seven carries, 80 yards, two TDs
The man that every Packer fan is hoping breaks out would be second-year man Christian Watson. Watson started his career off on the wrong foot when he dropped his first target on a wide-open go route for a touchdown. He also battled consistency and injury issues in the first half of the season which was one to forget. The second half of the season, however, was a different story. Watson was absolutely electric when the ball was in his hands and would always find the end zone.
He was 5th in receiving yards and T-1st in receiving TDs last season among all rookies. Watson’s main struggle was finding consistency and always being able to stay on the field. Those are some problems rookies usually tend to have, so it wasn’t a surprise from the former second-round pick. He has all the intangibles to be a star receiver in the league, including his blazing speed and YAC ability. If Watson is able to show what he did in the second half of the season, then Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers may be in for a good time.
2. Devonte Wyatt – Defensive Line
Packers DL Devonte Wyatt (95) – Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
2022 Stats: 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two passes deflected
Devonte Wyatt is a guy with lots of talent and potential but he didn’t get many snaps last season. For a good chunk he was on the bench buried on the depth chart. The departure of Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry opens up the gate for Wyatt as a starter. The Green Bay Packers spent one of their two first-round picks last season on Wyatt and for good reason. He’s an absolute stud and will have the opportunity to show that next season for Joe Berry’s defense. He showed a few flashes late last season when given the opportunity and gave us a glimpse of what he could do.
Against the Rams, he recorded a pair of tackles along with half of a sack. A few weeks later in the season finale against the Lions he finished with a tackle, one sack and a forced fumble fully displaying what he’s able to do. It was a good preview of what Wyatt can bring to the Green Bay Packers defense next season given that he’s likely the next man up on the line after some key departures.
3. Jordan Love – Quarterback
Packers QB Jordan Love (10) – Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
2022 Stats: 14/21, 195 passing yards, one TD, zero INTs, 66.7% completion percentage
This was the ‘pretty basic but needed to happen’ candidate. The Green Bay Packers’ success this season will solely be based on the performance of Jordan Love. He’s taking over for a HOF quarterback and has lots of pressure, considering he also got a one-year prove-it extension. Instead of paying him the 5th year option money, the Packers decided to give Love a one-year extension to still prove he’s the guy for the job. There’s a pretty small sample size of what we have to work with so far in Love’s career. In the times he played, he’s looked very up and down.
His most recent significant playing time was against the Eagles last season when Rodgers was shaken up. Love came in relief and went 6/9 to go along with 113 yards and one TD which was pretty good considering the team and circumstance. He looked poised and on point and looked the part. He’s had a few years to sit behind and learn from an NFL great and the Green Bay Packers are counting on him to be their franchise guy. This would be the ideal time to finally break out and burst onto the scene.
