The 2025 season is fast approaching. We are already one month removed from the NFL Draft, and OTAs are getting underway. Green Bay, Wisconsin, is pretty much back to normal after hosting the festivities of last month's draft, and with the pomp and circumstance in the past, fans can now begin to focus on the new-look team.
The Green Bay Packers have kicked off their OTAs, and many players are already in town after Jordan Love's charity softball game over the weekend. Love gained a few new weapons, as Green Bay notably ended a 23-year wait for a first-round wide receiver by selecting Texas' Matthew Golden.
Pundits around the league are already predicting big things for Golden, especially after Love heaped plenty of praise on the young receiver.
While Golden certainly is poised to make a major impact on this year's team, it is another receiver who could make a major splash for the Packers.
Packers rookie wide receiver Savion Williams is Matt LaFleur's dream player
If Matt LaFleur could go into Madden and create a player, it likely would be Savion Williams.
Selected in the third round of last month's draft out of TCU, Williams could be the quintessential player for the Packers' offense.
At 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, Williams has the build of a big-time NFL receiver. At the NFL Combine, he ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, showcasing explosive speed.
When you watch him play, the numbers don't always tell the full story.
As a three-year starter for TCU, Williams was called on to do a number of things. In his final season, he logged 60 catches for 611 yards while also carrying the ball 51 times for 322 yards. All combined, he logged 13 touchdowns.
Naturally, given his size and Wildcat formation versatility, Cordarrelle Patterson ends up being a very easy but accurate pro comp for the young receiver. Patterson, entering his 13th season in the NFL, has logged an incredible career, winning a Super Bowl while notching four Pro Bowl nominations and seven All-Pro nods.
One thing is apparent with Williams: LaFleur needs to get the ball in his hands.
He can get open with straight-line speed on a go route. In 2023, he added the ability to win underneath, all while being able to high-point balls and make catches in traffic. In 2024, Williams got more work out of the backfield as a Wildcat quarterback.
Drops have been an issue at times, as most scouting reports indicate. TCU got Williams the ball at a high rate, whether it be through the air or on the ground. LaFleur has always, almost frustratingly frequently, been known to vary the offense with jet sweeps and push passes to guys like Jayden Reed and Christian Watson.
Williams can play faster than the 4.48 40-yard speed, making guys miss in a variety of ways, whether it be outrunning them, making them miss, or going through would-be tacklers.
With Keisean Nixon wanting to get out of the return game, Williams is an obvious replacement, much like Patterson has done throughout his career. With another rule change to kickoffs that moves touchbacks to the 35-yard line, having a dynamic returner could be huge.
Green Bay signed Mecole Hardman in free agency, but after drafting Williams (and Golden), he may be on the outside looking in as the Packers build their roster for 2025.