How the Packers can become the third team in the Brandon Aiyuk trade

The Green Bay Packers may actually be able to help the San Francisco 49ers pull off one of the biggest blockbuster trades of 2024 while still boosting their own Super Bowl chances.

The 49ers are reportedly listening to offers on star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who wants more money than the 49ers are apparently willing to give him. There have been a number of suitors interested in Aiyuk, as you would expect, but the 49ers aren't getting any great offers for a player who could help them win a Super Bowl.

They need to be blown away, and rightfully so.

That's perhaps where the Packers come into the picture, as it's now being reported by NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo that a third team could enter the mix and sweeten the deal for the 49ers, perhaps specifically by including a wide receiver in the trade.

Packers can boost Super Bowl hopes by getting Brandon Aiyuk out of the NFC

Garafolo says that he has "no doubt" in his mind that the 49ers have been nosing around the league and have had those specific conversations, regarding trading a receiver back to San Francisco as a third party in this kind of deal.

The issue with what Garafolo says here is that "no one" has got an "excess" of receivers right now and that's where the Packers may beg to differ. We saw a wide variety of players step up for the Packers last year at the wide receiver position, and if the right compensation is coming back, they could still be five or six deep at the position even if they traded one of their guys.

Who would reasonably be considered "available" from the current Packers crop that would also be of interest to the 49ers in a Brandon Aiyuk blockbuster? Well, the names that immediately pop up would be three of Green Bay's top four guys: Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks.

Of course, any of those three guys would be a downgrade to Aiyuk for the 49ers, but let's say that San Francisco is sending Aiyuk to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Packers are sending Watson to the 49ers, and Green Bay is getting back a second-round pick from the Steelers.

That's not a terrible trade, by any means (although the 49ers would need more than just Watson). And the Packers would be able to feature Doubs, Jayden Reed (who I believe would be off-limits here), as well as Wicks. Then you could see expanded roles for guys like Bo Melton and Malik Heath, as well as more work for the tight ends and backs in the passing game.

It's certainly not the type of deal you want to make on the doorstep of the 2024 season. This kind of trade would have been much better back before the 2024 NFL Draft where the Packers could have actually used those picks right away instead of saving them for the future. But getting a couple of good draft picks for Watson, Doubs, or even Wicks (which might be the most painful option) is a way the Packers can make a sacrifice now for potentially a better shot at the Super Bowl in February.

The 49ers not having Aiyuk improves Green Bay's chances, and they can potentially play an active role in getting him out of San Francisco.

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