One year ago at this time, the Green Bay Packers were preparing to enter the NFL season, and they would do so with more questions than answers. How would Jordan Love fare in his first season as the Packers starting quarterback? Would a defense that fell out of the top half of the league in 2022 bounce back in 2023? And what about all of those young and exciting, but ultimately unproven weapons? How much of a support system would they be able to provide for their new starting quarterback?
Jordan Love? Well, he put forth a season (4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) that was on par with Aaron Rodgers' first year as a starter (4,038 yards, 28 touchdowns, 13 interceptions) in Green Bay. The defense? Improved in both points and yards allowed in 2023. And what about those weapons? Well, the Packers had six players with at least 300 receiving yards, and not a single one of those players were over the age of 24.
The leader of that group of young and exciting, but ultimately unproven weapons turned out to be rookie wideout Jayden Reed, who in his first NFL season led the Packers in receiving yards, yards from scrimmage and total touchdowns. Reed immediately established himself as one of the best big-play threats in the league, ranking fifth in the NFL with ten 30-yard receptions last year. His second season in Green Bay is expected to be even more productive, but there's one problem… according to a tweet from NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Jayden Reed will open the season on the NFI list.
Sources in Green Bay seem to believe the injury keeping Jayden Reed out at the start of training camp is nothing major. He's expected to make a return reasonably soon. But as the Packers attempt to build on their surprising success from last season, any and all reps that Jordan Love can get with his young, exciting, and still mostly unproven weapons would be valuable.
Packers have high hopes for Jayden Reed
Last season after a November win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Matt LaFleur famously called Jayden Reed “a war daddy,” and although I'm confident that was indeed a compliment, I don't totally understand what it means. In more straight-forward terms, Jordan Love recently gave this assessment of his 2nd-year weapon:
“He does a lot,” Love shared, per Bill Huber of SI.com. “Just the explosive playmaker he is, he’s the guy that can win inside in the slot position for us and does a lot of really good things. Obviously, you see what happens when he gets the ball in his hands. Just the progression he’s made since when he got here and then, obviously, now he’s making even more strides. He’s a phenomenal player and, obviously, I think he’s going to have a bigger role this year.”
The way that Jayden Reed closed last season is a good indication of what Packers fans could expect from him this year. Although Reed was quiet in Green Bay's two postseason games, over the final two games of the regular season — two games that the Packers needed to win in order to make the Playoffs — Reed played his best football of the season, catching 10 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in wins over Minnesota and Chicago. At season's end, Reed became the the first rookie since Sterling Sharpe to lead the Packers in receiving yards. But in the mind of Jayden Reed, this is only the beginning.
“I always got higher standards for myself,” Reed said during OTAs. “I want to go for 1,000 yards this year plus and have more catches. That’s just for me. That starts with me knowing the offense better and being in the right position. That can make a huge difference because I wouldn’t even feel like I was fully confident last year. So, I think that will make a big difference this year.”
Follow Us
Subscribe
