GREEN BAY – With Jayden Reed now out for an extended stretch and Christian Watson not yet back on the field, the Packers' depth at receiver is about to come in rather handy.
The best part is nobody's new to the job, with rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams already getting worked into the rotation in the first two games alongside veterans Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks and Malik Heath.
Throw in a multitude of options at tight end led by Tucker Kraft, and quarterback Jordan Love has zero concerns about any stagnation in the passing game, even as dynamic as Reed can be in this offense.
"I think J-Reed's one-of-one," Love said after Wednesday's practice. "He'll be missed. But we've got a lot of guys in that receiver room who can step up, who've played a lot of good minutes and this won't be their first time getting in there."
The ball already has been spread around plenty, and that approach has produced.
Doubs snagged a deep ball in Week 1 and caught a TD pass in Week 2. Wicks has moved the chains on each of his six receptions thus far. Kraft has a TD in both games and his first career 100-yard performance on his ledger. Heath hauled in a difficult reception last week with great body control along the sideline.
"That was a crazy catch that he made," Love said of Health's toe-tap grab that required a replay challenge to overturn the original incomplete call. "But I think that's just 'Lik … just the dawg he is. He's a very competitive person and wants to go out there and win every rep."
That rings true across the board, and while Doubs as the eldest in the group is as reliable as it gets and Wicks is progressing toward that status, Kraft has displayed a level of confidence that has caught his QB's eye and is elevating his game.
"The play style that he's playing with, that's always been there," Love said of the third-year tight end and rising star. "I think it's just now the banked reps and the built-up confidence for the consistency that he's playing with.
"I love what he's doing. He's playing really fast. He's making big-time plays."
And then there's the rookies. While Williams has gotten involved in some of the less conventional plays – motioning into push passes and end arounds – Golden has been close to busting loose.
Twice against Washington, he and Love barely missed connecting deep. On the first one, a fourth-and-3 on which Love snapped the ball because he thought he caught the defense with 12 men on the field, Golden was a late read in the progression but won his route deep. Love slightly underthrew him on what would've been a 33-yard TD.
Then a few drives later, Golden was behind the defense again and Love launched a missile that carried just a tad too far.
"I think if we just put a little air under that, you have a different result," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "But those aren't like easy throws by any stretch."
Added Love: "It's a game of inches. We were right there."
It bodes well for what lies ahead, though, given Golden is just two games into this, and seemingly anyone is capable of a big play.
So far, Kraft has a 57-yard catch and run to his credit, Doubs a 48-yard bomb, and Heath the 37-yarder along the boundary. Tight end Luke Musgrave has a 23-yard reception, too. Golden has been tantalizingly close twice and Wicks was tried on a deep shot early against Washington.
"The QBs believe in our room," Wicks said. "It's just next man up. When your number's called, you gotta step up and make those plays. That's what we focus on."
Twenty-seven points in each of the first two games is certainly satisfactory, but with a handful of three-and-outs mixed in – the kind of lulls LaFleur keeps pushing to avoid – that scoring total is by no means this offense's peak, even as the targeted options continue to change.
"Man, I think the ceiling is high," Love said of the offense. "We're a very explosive offense – we've shown that – but I think there's still more out there for us, obviously, with some of the misses. It just comes down to being consistent."
