After making some trades during the 2026 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers ultimately ended up making six picks in Pittsburgh last week, but not a single one of those selections was a wide receiver, although they did add Florida's J. Michael Sturdivant as an undrafted free agent.
Now, outside of simply being stocked up at the position, which is never a bad thing, it's not that the Packers necessarily need a ton of wideout help at this point, as they've got a solid young trio in the starting lineup with Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, and Jayden Reed, the last of whom recently received a three-year, $50.25 million extension.
They've got some solid reserves in Savion Williams, Bo Melton, and Skyy Moore, and let's not forget that, assuming he comes back healthy, they've got an emerging star in tight end Tucker Kraft. So, Jordan Love has weapons.
All that said, though, Dharya Sharma of The Sporting News believes the Packers should still sign Deebo Samuel, who has yet to find a new home since becoming an unrestricted free agent after spending the 2025 campaign with the Washington Commanders.
"At this stage of his career, Samuel is more of an intermediate threat, as he had just four catches over 20 yards last year," Sharma wrote. "However, that is the type of receiver the Packers need to pair with Watson, Golden, and Reed, who all possess game-breaking speed.
"Reed and Golden would be most affected by a Samuel signing, as those two also do a ton of their work in the slot. But that shouldn't be an issue because Samuel and Golden also have the ability to play on the outside compared to Reed, who has logged 75% of his career snaps in the slot."
Deebo Samuel is likely just too expensive for the Packers
Look, the idea is good in theory, as nobody would expect Samuel to come in and be the WR1 type he was when he earned First-Team All-Pro honors with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 after racking up 77 catches for 1,405 yards and six scores.
He also added another 365 yards and eight scores on the ground that year, by the way, but he's certainly not in a great position these days to be much of a threat as a rusher.
Sure, Samuel led the Commanders in receiving yards last year, tallying 727 and five touchdowns on 72 grabs. But it undoubtedly has to be noted that Terry McLaurin only appeared in 10 games due to a persistent quad injury. So, that certainly has to be taken into account.
And, of course, there's the matter of money. Spotrac currently has Deebo's market value set at just over $15.774 million per season, and that's just not in play for the Packers to pay for someone who'd basically be the overall WR4 on the depth chart.
Again, the idea is good in theory, but unless Green Bay can get him to accept about half that figure, which doesn't seem likely, don't expect Samuel to be donning the Green & Gold anytime soon.
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