The Green Bay Packers used the offseason to make some tweaks to the roster after getting bounced in the wild-card round. There has been a lot of movement in Green Bay's receiver room, with Romeo Doubs departing in free agency and Dontayvion Wicks traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
ESPN's Seth Walder released an article discussing his offseason grades. In that piece, he gave the Packers a B+ and highlighted that his favorite move was the decision to extend Christian Watson.
While that was a good move, it overlooks arguably the team's best decision of the offseason: handing Jayden Reed a new deal.
Packers quietly made a Jayden Reed decision that will age beautifully
In April, Green Bay and Reed agreed on a three-year, $50.25 million extension with $20 million guaranteed. That comes out to just $16.75 million a year, compared to Watson's $23 million per year, which was also a great deal.
But when you look at Reed's impact over his three years in Titletown, this is effectively a steal for the Packers. Reed is a true chess piece who wears multiple hats in Matt LaFleur's offense. He is used on jet sweeps, RPOs, shallow crosses, and occasional deep shots.
There isn't much that LaFleur doesn't think Reed can excel at, and his production follows. In 40 career games (26 starts), he has 138 catches (191 targets) for 1,857 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. He also has 310 rushing yards (9.1 yards per attempt) and three additional rushing scores.
Reed led the team in receiving yards in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, highlighting the rapport he built with quarterback Jordan Love. He was forced to miss 10 games last year due to a broken clavicle and a lingering Jones fracture in his left foot. That was unfortunate, and the time away may have put him at the back of the minds of fans, but Reed is one of their best offensive weapons.
With him locked down for the future, he will be solely focused on producing at the highest level, and there's a world where he outplays that contract. And when you look at the AAV for receivers around the NFL, 30 receivers are ahead of Reed in terms of yearly salary. But there aren't 30 receivers who are better than him.
It just goes to show the masterclass of Brian Gutekunst at the negotiating table with the Michigan State product. They were able to extend one of their best playmakers, and it continues to go under the radar. But when the Packers take the field again, they'll be reminded how good a player Reed is.
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