Getty Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers walks off the field after the game against the Washington Commanders at FedExField on October 23, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers are almost certain to make a move for at least one wideout before the NFL’s trade deadline, but some targets are more favorable than others.
Heavy NFL insider Matt Lombardo hosted former Philadelphia Eagles president and Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner on the October 26 edition of the Matt Lombardo Show. During the conversation, Banner suggested that third-year receiver Jerry Jeudy of the Denver Broncos is the Packers’ most likely trade target, not to mention the best fit.
“I may be stubborn on Jeudy because he hasn’t been great, but I totally loved him in the draft,” Banner said. “And I do think they should try to get somebody young enough that it isn’t just kind of a one year run with Rodgers, but actually start to put the wide receiver position in the way he wanted to be to really compete against good teams. So for me, [Chase] Claypool [of the Steelers] and Jeudy are the kind of top two names.”
Jeudy Has Shown Flashes of Explosiveness Packers’ Badly Need
GettyWide receiver Jerry Jeudy of the Denver Broncos looks on during pregame against the New York Jets at Empower Field at Mile High on October 23, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
The problem for Green Bay at wide receiver is that quarterback Aaron Rodgers can’t throw the ball down the field because none of his pass catchers are extraordinarily capable of creating separation through speed. The problem for Jeudy throughout the first 2.5 years of his NFL career is that he hasn’t had quarterbacks who can capitalize on his ability to do that exact thing.
Thus it appears, on paper anyway, that Rodgers and Jeudy could simultaneously prove each other’s solution.
Jeudy has amassed 114 catches for 1,709 yards and five touchdowns through 33 games played, per Pro Football Reference. As the former 15th overall pick in 2020, he remains under contract through 2023. Furthermore, if the Packers trade for him prior to next May, they would have the option to pick up the fifth-year option on Jeudy’s rookie deal, which would secure him as a target for Rodgers through 2024.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported Tuesday that the Packers were “actively calling” around the league in search of a wideout and “hoped” to find a player on a rookie contract, allowing for longevity of that player in Green Bay with a more minimal financial impact than a veteran like Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks. Jeudy fits that bill precisely.
Adding Jeudy Makes Packers Stronger Players For Odell Beckham Jr.
GettyWide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., formerly of the Los Angeles Rams, runs off the field after defeating the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on January 2, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Making a move for Jeudy would improve the Packers’ roster immediately, though it may not produce immediate on-field results. Green Bay is currently 3-4 with a Sunday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills looming on October 30. At 3-5, the Packers would be far from out of the playoff picture in a weak NFC, but the sledding toward the postseason would be tough and the climb steep.
Eventually, Jeudy would help tread that path. Perhaps even more importantly, he would give Green Bay a better line on scooping up free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who is expected to be healthy enough to play at some point in November or December.
The two of them together on the Packers’ roster, joined then by presumably healthy pass catchers in Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb (both of whom are currently injured) transforms the look of the Rodgers-led offense. It is also the strategy Banner suggested during his Wednesday conversation with Lombardo.
“If there’s any way [after signing Jeudy], then get OBJ. They should do that,” Banner said. “But I suspect he wants to join a team that has a real chance to win a Super Bowl. … And [the Packers] are sitting there [at 3-4] trailing the division by three games right now, so I don’t know if he views them as a team that created an opportunity to probably go to the Super Bowl again.”
“A couple of weeks ago, I would have said things differently,” Banner continued. “I would have thought he would find [Green Bay] as a desirable place, and they should be doing everything they can to get him now if they’re going to acquire a wide receiver, which I think makes sense.”