One of the most entertaining debates of this Green Bay Packers offseason has been whether or not they're going to take a wide receiver in the first round. You know the schtick by now: it's been two decades since Green Bay took a receiver in the first round, and at this point the team isn't even all that subtle about it.
Except this year, they kinda need one? Despite having plenty of potential in the wide receiver room, no one's quite turned into a #1 option yet and, especially with Christian Watson out early in the season, there's still plenty of space for someone to come in and be The Guy.
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Plus, most mock drafts have the second-best, if not the best, wide receiver still on the board when the Packers pick at 23. But according to ESPN's Packers insider Rob Demovsky, it doesn't sound like the team's going to break the 20-year streak this year after all.
It doesn't seem like the Packers are actually that likely to pick a WR in the first round
"Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made a point of saying this offseason that it has never been an organizational philosophy to skip receivers in the first round. That said, it's still hard to feel good about projecting a first-round receiver to the Packers until they actually do it," writes Demovsky.
"While Gutekunst said he hasn't purposefully avoided taking a receiver on the first day, he did say it's one of the more difficult positions for a rookie to make an immediate impact from, which could be why he has favored other spots in Round 1."
Maybe this is just the most committed and thorough misdirect in the history of Packers gamesmanship, but given all the stuff that People In The Know have been saying about Gutekunst's draft plan, it doesn't sound like taking a receiver is very likely. In hindsight, it's now kinda weird that they spent the entire offseason and pre-draft process visiting with more receivers than any other position, but I guess that's the fun of Smokescreen SZN?
But also, maybe that's what the Packers would want us to believe? This is a huge bit, after all. If there was ever a time to land the punchline, it's probably around 20 years. And it's in Green Bay this year? They're not fooling me.