Packers hint that it might be time to get Aaron Rodgers some help

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is looking forward to a deep class of wide receivers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. 

These days, it seems like Las Vegas is home to everything the Green Bay Packers want in 2022.

Losing Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders created a massive hole in the Packers offense, which the Packers recently tried to fill with a grab for Raiders tight end Darren Waller.

Besides coveted Raiders players, Las Vegas is home to something else this year: the 2022 NFL Draft. The Packers may have been quiet in free agency so far, but Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is looking forward to spending picks No. 22 and No. 28 on prime wide receiver talent.

“The last few [classes of WR] have been pretty deep, and I think this one is another one,” Gutekunst said via the team’s official website.

Packers look to spend first-round draft picks on wide receivers

Still, Gutekunst is quick to temper expectations. The Packers didn’t luck out with Jordan Love the way they did with drafting Hall of Fame quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, and the same goes with the receiver position. The Packers could get someone like Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, the former LSU weapons who each broke the record for rookie receiving yards in back-to-back seasons, or they could get a talented pass-catcher who takes longer to develop.

“But history still kind of shows that for all rookies, not just wide receivers, but for all rookies, it takes time,” Gutekunst said. “This is a hard league. There’s a learning curve before these guys really start to produce at a high level.”

The good news is that the Packers are set at quarterback for the next few years, so the team can quickly ramp up their offense with the right pick at wide receiver. With so many options available, including Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Drake London and Chris Olave, it would be tough for the Packers to go wrong if they do take a wideout in the first round.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good quarterback and that helps significantly, so certainly I think there’s probably going to be more opportunity for that young player if we happen to go that route to come in and have some opportunities,” Gutekunst said. “Hopefully it’ll be quicker if we go that route this year … but I will say we got some pretty good players in the building that I think are very eager for their opportunity, which maybe they haven’t had yet.”