Who remembers when the Green Bay Packers drafted Florida State wide receiver Javon Walker with the 20th-overall pick in the 2002 draft? Walker had an RAS that would make general manager Brian Gutekunst blush.

Fast forward 23 years later, and the Packers haven’t taken a wideout in the first round since. With a need at the position and fans clamoring for years for Green Bay to take a wide receiver in the first round, now seems like a good time. Right?

Wrong. Drafting a wide receiver early is not the move for the Packers.

Green Bay has some soul searching to do in the wide receiver room this offseason. The Packers had the youngest team in the NFL in 2024 for a second consecutive year and one of the youngest receiver groups.

It sounds fine and dandy until you come to the harsh realization that none of the main four names in Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, or Dontayvion Wicks really stepped up into the top spot.

All had moments of brilliance, but none showed consistency.

Everyone would like to believe one of the four, at minimum, would grab the WR1 belt and run with it. It hasn’t happened, and Green Bay can’t afford to wait another season and hope it clicks.

Gutekunst said as much back in January about the wishy-washy season for the group.

I think those guys did a good job. I thought there was a period of time in the middle of the season where we were a very explosive football team. So I think all those guys grew individually in different ways. It was interesting, I thought as we went through the season, guys took on different roles. Nobody really established their own role, so to speak. I think every guy kind of took some turns.

Not exactly a glowing review from the boss man.

So, why shouldn’t they draft a receiver early this year?

Green Bay doesn’t need another prospect that pops on film and has the high RAS that the Packers have coveted more than other franchises.

They need something proven. The Packers need a player who Jordan Love knows can get separation more times than not in crunch time.

The Packers will enter the 2025 season uncertain about what the ceiling is for Doubs, Reed, and Wicks. Watson will miss significant time after a brutal knee injury against the Chicago Bears in Week 18. Adding another unknown to the pool via the draft with an early selection doesn’t make much sense.

It’s okay for the Packers to go into the season with Doubs and Watson entering Year 4 not knowing their floor or ceiling. Still, it’ll be a huge year for both because the clock will start ticking.

The same can be said for Reed and Wicks entering Year 3.

Cluttering that picture up with another unproven commodity doesn’t solve the problem.

Looking at the draft board, two names come into focus pretty quickly. Tetairoa McMillan and Luther Burden III should be first-round picks at wideout.

The former is long gone in almost every mock draft before Green Bay selects at No. 23. The latter is right around that range.

It’s not a wide receiver class glowing with many first- and second-round locks like at running back.

There are options to get an established wide receiver who has the Rubik’s cube already solved.

Names like Davante Adams (assuming the New York Jets release him), Tee Higgins, Cooper Kupp, and Deebo Samuel. Two of those players would cost picks and aren’t the most appealing options because of that. Still, ask yourself if you’d rather have a Kupp to help alleviate much of the pressure from the passing game or a shot in the dark on a prospect that you hope turns into a stud.

It’d be different if Green Bay were in a retooling phase. Then the idea of loading up on prospects, even a wide receiver with an early pick, would be better received (no pun intended).

It isn’t a retool or a rebuild, though.

This is a team trying to go for gold now, as Gutekunst mentioned in January when he said, “It’s time we started competing for championships.”

Green Bay will have to use its No. 23 pick on someone at some position. Doing so at one that already has less uncertainty in the category of consistency would be wise.

Do we think Love wants another young wide receiver to bring along in hopes of it being a home run first-round pick? Or would he rather have something more established given the current state of the wideout room?

The answer shouldn’t take much critical thinking.

If Doubs or Reed or Watson or Wicks had gone nuclear in 2024 and emerged as a go-to guy, drafting a wide receiver in round one or two would be more appealing. However, that didn’t happen, and questions remain. The Packers need solidified answers at wide receiver, not another question mark.