Getty Dontayvion Wicks celebrates a touchdown with the Lambeau Leap.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks has been nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week after his 2-touchdown performance in the Packers’ January 7 playoff-clinching win over the Chicago Bears.
Wicks caught 6 of 7 targets for 61 yards and scored the only 2 Packers touchdowns of the game. The Packers rookie has found himself a more prominent figure in the Packers offense over recent weeks, especially in the absence of injured wideout Christian Watson.
Wicks caught his first touchdown of the season in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, but did not see the end zone again until Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers.
With his 6 catches against the Bears, Wicks also matched his career-high in receptions. He previously caught 6 passes for 97 yards in Week 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Packers Fans Happily Surprised
According to Spectrum News 1, the average age of the Packers’ roster is 25.58 years old. This makes the Packers the fourth youngest team to make the postseason since 1970.
Of the 53 active players on the Packers roster, 16 of them are rookies. The Packers only have two active players aged 30 or older, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, 30, and linebacker Preston Smith, 31.
GettyJayden Reed is another Packers rookie who has impressed this season
Jayden Reed, another of the Packers rookie wide receivers also received nominations for Rookie of the Week in Weeks 10, 11 and 17.
According to Packer Report, the Packers opening day 53-man roster was the youngest in the NFL in six years. Youth does not typically equal success in the NFL, so many Packers fans are happily surprised by their playoff berth.
“For them to make the playoffs this year is awesome and frankly unexpected,” said one fan in an interview with Spectrum News 1. “Now we’re just playing with house money at this point.”
“When you have a new quarterback, and it’s a new year, and mid-season it kind of looked down, and you come up and win and the win to get in is against the Bears, there is absolutely nothing better,” a Packers fan said in an interview with Fox 11 News.
Packers Rookies of the Year
With Wicks and Reed both being nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week, it shows the growth of the Packers rookies over the course of the season.
While none of the Packers rookies are favorite to win the Rookie of the Year this season, a few have managed to do so in the past.
Former Packers running back Eddie Lacy
The NFL Rookie of the Year Award is the highest honor a rookie can receive (with the exception of League MVP).
There are Rookie of the Year awards for both offense and defense. Since the Associated Press began awarding this honor in 1967, 96 players have won. Packers players have found winning the award hard to come by, winning it on just three occasions.
The first Packer to win the award was running back John Brockington in 1971. In 1972, cornerback Willie Buchanon won the award on the defensive side of the ball.
The most recent Packer to win the award was running back Eddie Lacy in 2013.