Packers: 3 biggest draft mistakes that are hurting the team now

1. Drafting Jordan Love over Tee Higgins

Jordan Love could still eventually become QB1 in Green Bay. Maybe he becomes the Packers’ next star quarterback. Until he is given an opportunity to become the full-time starter, we won’t know.

However, in 2020, the Packers were serious Super Bowl contenders. They had just reached the NFC Championship Game on the back of a 13-win season.

Get the offense some more help, we thought. A wide receiver to go next to Davante Adams?

The dream of drafting Justin Jefferson quickly ended after the Minnesota Vikings picked him, and other top prospects like Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb were already gone. However, in a deep wide receiver class, the Packers had the opportunity to take another talented player in Clemson’s Tee Higgins.

Instead, they shocked the world by trading up for a quarterback, while Higgins went 33rd overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Higgins has become a key target for Joe Burrow in a Bengals passing offense that ranks fifth in the NFL after Week 7.

Higgins made 67 catches for 908 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, then followed it up with 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns last season. He’s on pace for another 1,000-yard year in 2022.

He played a vital role in the Bengals’ Super Bowl run last year. Higgins caught seven passes for 96 yards in the divisional round, six for 103 yards in the AFC title game, then made four receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl.

The Packers’ offense could’ve reached another level with Davante Adams and Tee Higgins as the top two wide receivers. And now with Adams gone, the Packers would’ve had an excellent young receiver ready to step into a bigger role in his third season.