Packers Notebook (bye week)

By: 
Bill Huber
Correspondent

Receiver room revamped

The offseason trade of Davante Adams played a big role in the colossal disappointment that has been the Green Bay Packers’ 2022 season. How general manager Brian Gutekunst replaced Adams could play a big role in the franchise’s quick rebound.

Second-round pick Christian Watson leads all NFL rookies with nine touchdowns, including seven touchdown receptions, on the strength of an astounding four-game stretch of eight touchdowns. Fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs showed plenty of promise before suffering an ankle injury that’s essentially cost him the last five games. And, in a smattering of snaps, seventh-round pick Samori Toure has delivered a couple big plays.

“I’m very high on those guys’ ceilings and what they could do as a group,” Gutekunst said Monday.

Watson has taken the league by storm in one of the most incredible turnarounds imaginable. He infamously dropped a 75-yard touchdown at Minnesota on his first NFL snap in week one. Hamstring issues and a concussion limited him to only 81 snaps the next eight weeks. His season appeared to be going from bad to worse when he dropped his first two targets against Dallas in week 10.

And then came the play that changed everything, a 58-yard touchdown pass that jumpstarted Green Bay’s upset win over the Cowboys. He scored three touchdowns vs. Dallas, two vs. Tennessee, one vs. Philadelphia and two vs. Chicago. His eight touchdowns in four games tied Randy Moss’ NFL record for most touchdowns in a four-game span by a rookie receiver.

“You’ve got to give that kid a lot of credit because, obviously, the way the season started, going into camp with the (knee) surgery and then having to miss that time and falling behind because of different injuries and stuff,” Gutekunst said. “I think a lot of guys, that would’ve been it, right? ‘Hey, let’s get to the next season and see how it goes.’

“But I give him a lot of credit for not losing faith and not losing his work ethic because, when the opportunities presented themselves, he’s made the most of them. I think the thing I’m most proud about with Christian right now is he really has a desire to be great and he’s not walking around here like he’s arrived in any way. I think he truly wants to be the best version of himself that he can be, and he knows there’s still a lot of work out there for him.”

Gutekunst rolled the dice on Watson in this year’s draft. With six receivers off the board in the top 20 picks, he used his first-round picks on linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. At the start of day two of the draft, he didn’t just trade his two second-round picks to select Watson. He traded his second-round picks to the rival Minnesota Vikings.

It’s one thing to make a trade. It’s another to make a trade with a division foe. Imagine the outcry had Watson been a Year 1 bust while the Vikings got a couple stars. Instead, Watson looks like a future star.

“I always have a sigh of relief when our players do well,” Gutekunst said. “I’m not really looking back on all that. I’m just really happy for the player and for Christian. He’s done a heck of a job on his own, fighting through some of these things and just being prepared for his opportunities. It’s not easy making it in this league, especially as a young player and coming in with a quarterback who has a standard that is so high. Those guys have been fighting really hard to get to that standard, and to see it come to the other side of it is really nice to see.”

There’s definitely more room for growth. Despite practically taking up residency in the end zone, he’s only caught 15-of-26 targets the past four games. The Packers have to find ways to get the ball into the hands of the rookie with rocket speed and suddenly sure hands.

“Obviously, you want to get your playmakers the ball, and he’s done a great job when we’ve gotten him the ball of making some big-time plays,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ll continue to look, and I think right now is a great time for us to look at different ways that you can potentially get him the ball, whether it’s on those jet sweeps and what else we can build off of that.

“But he is an explosive player, no doubt about it. You’ve seen it two weeks in a row where he just outruns everybody. He’s a guy that you want to give as many opportunities to as possible.”

No regrets

This past offseason, Gutekunst could have gone one of two ways. One, he could give quarterback Aaron Rodgers a contract extension to free up salary cap space to make additional moves to fortify a roster that reached NFC Championship Games in 2019 and 2020 and was the No. 1 seed in 2020 and 2021. Or, he could have traded Rodgers and moved forward with Jordan Love.

Gutekunst went with the first option. Going about as all-in as possible by kicking tens of millions of cap dollars into future seasons so he could re-sign linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and cornerback Rasul Douglas and add a few veterans, the Packers seem destined to miss the playoffs after an unprecedented three consecutive seasons of 13-plus wins.

“No regrets. Not at all,” Gutekunst said. “Obviously, heading into the season, being the No. 1 seed the last two seasons leading into this season, a lot of high hopes.

“We were certainly expected to be competing for a championship, and we are still in it. If we’re able to dig our way back into this thing, we still feel like we have the ability to do that. But this season has not gone as we expected. But I think back then when we made those decisions, certainly, we were looking at a different outcome right now.”

Will Bakhtiari be back?

When the Packers signed David Bakhtiari to a four-year, $92 million contract extension in November 2020, it was a reward to a player who was on his way to first-team All-Pro honors for the second time in his career.

About six weeks later, Bakhtiari suffered a torn ACL at practice. The injury not only derailed Green Bay’s run to the Super Bowl but it derailed his brilliant career. He missed almost all of the 2021 season and the start of the 2022 season. When he’s played, he’s been great. But the knee remains the great unknown. He was a part-time player against the Giants and Lions and a surprise inactive against the Commanders.

Moving forward, Bakhtiari has cap charges of $29 million in 2023 and $33 million in 2024. The Packers could move on this offseason and create some cap space; he’s due a $9.5 million roster bonus on the third-day of the 2023 league year. Or, they could roll the dice with a premier player at a premium position with the belief that the worst is behind him.

Gutekunst wouldn’t tip his hand on which way he was leaning.

“I thought he played really, really well, and (the knee) was holding up really well, and then just snakebit with the appendectomy (before the Chicago game) and what he’s going through right now,” Gutekunst said. “But he’s playing at a very, very high level. Left tackles don’t grow on trees.”