The Green Bay Packers went against their usual mold when they took wide receiver Jayden Reed. In the Brian Gutekunst era, the team has gone for tall, athletic players. Reed was a smaller speed-type player, but the team was apparently very high on him. He has impressed during his rookie season and is looking like another second-round gem for the Green Bay Packers franchise.
Packers WR Jayden Reed (11) – Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Green Bay Packers Jayden Reed Stats
Reed has caught 32 balls for 463 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is slowly turning into one of the go-to receivers for Jordan Love. While Romeo Doubs tends to get a lot of the red zone targets, Reed consistently gets open as well. Matt LaFleur has also been using Reed in the running game. He has five rushes for 65 yards including a 32-yard touchdown on a jet sweep in the week 11 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. His impact goes beyond the stat sheet as he has been able to block well on the outside despite his size.
His leadership has also started to come through in recent weeks. Doubs and Watson seem to be more of the quiet type, so Reed has taken the helm of being the vocal leader. After the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 10, the receivers had a meeting at his locker and Reed was hyping up the young crew. For the Packers, this is exactly what you want to see, and the hope is that Reed joins the long list of second-round wide receiver hits.
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Former Packers WR Jordy Nelson (87) – Charles LeClaire/ USA TODAY Sports
Green Bay Packers 2nd Round Wide Receivers
It is pretty crazy how many great players the franchise has chosen in the second round. The narrative around this team for years has been that they haven’t drafted a first-round wide receiver. I am in the camp that this is a dumb argument when you look at the draft history. Greg Jennings was picked 52nd overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Jordy Nelson was picked 36th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. As the cherry on top, the team picked Davante Adams 53rd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The Green Bay Packers know how to find the value in the second round at the wide receiver position. Even Christian Watson has shown promise and he was taken in the second round.
Packers WR Jayden Reed (11) – Philip G. Pavely/ USA TODAY Sports
This has been an up-and-down year for the Packers. Players like Jayden Reed are making the season more tolerable. While there is still a ton to work on for this team, they are showing growth which is what you want to see out of a young team. If this team continues to develop together, they could be a scary group in a couple of years in the NFC.
