"Winning. Hopefully winning will keep all of them happy." -- Packers coach Matt LaFleur before the 2025 season on managing a deep a receiver room.
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It was supposed to be a strength of the Green Bay Packers' offense last season. There was Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed. Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks. Matthew Golden and Savion Williams.
The beauty of having so many capable receivers, as LaFleur put it before the start of last season, was two-fold: opposing defenses wouldn't know who was getting the ball, and quarterback Jordan Love wouldn't feel pressure to force-feed a No. 1 receiver. And that was without even mentioning burgeoning star tight end Tucker Kraft.
It didn't quite turn out that way.
And perhaps it's why, despite losing two of those receivers -- Doubs in free agency and Wicks in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles -- the Packers did not add a single receiver in last week's NFL draft.
Granted, general manager Brian Gutekunst selected only six players (he started with eight picks but twice traded up), but it became clear that perhaps more isn't necessarily better when it comes to keeping receivers happy and fielding a successful passing game.
"The one thing I will say is you want guys that want the football," LaFleur said Saturday after the draft. "But, yeah, I thought it was a problem. It was a good problem in regards to we felt like we had a lot of people capable of going out there and making the necessary plays. Quite frankly, I still feel that way,"
Without mentioning names, LaFleur dropped something of a bombshell earlier this offseason when he said, "I think there were some guys that were upset about roles last year, and I think that took a toll on our football team."
He could very well have been talking about the receiver group. Whoever it was, the Packers slipped from fifth in total offense in 2024 to 15th in 2025 with a 9-7-1 regular season and a 31-27 wild-card loss to the Chicago Bears.
Rob Demovsky recaps the 2026 NFL Draft on behalf of the Packers.
Without a first-round pick this year, the biggest move the Packers made early in the draft was to sign Reed to a three-year, $50 million contract extension on Friday that solidified him as one of the team's go-to receivers.
That does not mean that Watson could be on his way out. Quite the opposite, in fact. Watson, who is under contract only through this season, might be next in line for an extension.
"Absolutely with Christian," Gutekunst said. "Amongst a bunch of other guys that we're going to hope over the next few months to try to maybe do some of that with."
That would make Watson, Reed and Golden the clear-cut, top three receivers, all of whom could see their targets increase.
"I don't think we've ever lacked talent at that position," LaFleur said. "And I think a year ago, I think we all saw it, man. It was hard to get everybody the amount of touches that we'd like to get them, so I think this is an opportunity to kind of reset everything and we've got more opportunities I'd say for everybody in that room."
The Packers also return Williams and versatile Bo Melton while adding free agent Skyy Moore.
In 2025, Gutekunst made Golden the first Packers receiver drafted in Round 1 since 20022, but he picked only one offensive player in the 2026 draft: interior offensive lineman Jager Burton of Kentucky. He selected four defensive players, including two cornerbacks: South Carolina's Brandon Cisse with his first pick (a second-rounder, No. 52 overall) and Alabama's Domani Jackson in the sixth round. Gutekunst traded up to pick defensive tackle Chris McClellan of Missouri in the third round and kicker Trey Smack of Florida in the sixth. His only other pick was defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton of Penn State in the fourth round.
The six picks are tied for the smallest draft class in Packers history, matching the 2001, 2002 and 2004 drafts, and it's a sign that Gutekunst felt his roster was in good shape even before the draft.
"Most seasons are determined by the guys that are coming back, not necessarily the guys you're getting in the draft," Gutekunst said. "These guys are just starting their NFL journey, and there's so much in front of them, and I feel really good about all of them, and I think they're going to have a chance to have an opportunity to be very good players in this league.
"But you don't win the Super Bowl during the draft, but certainly I felt like over the course of the three days that we did some good things to help our football team and help the group that's coming back."