GREEN BAY — Dontayvion Wicks hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to getting open, and he hasn’t lost any confidence, either.
But the Green Bay Packers wide receiver has lost the handle on a team-high seven passes, and as he heads into the second half of his second season, he’s expecting that to change — starting with Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
“My confidence ain’t going nowhere,” Wicks said as the Packers (6-3) prepared for their first game following their bye week, a rivalry game against the reeling Bears (4-5). “I’m still confident in my hands, I know what I can do. It’s just, it’s going to turn. I’m just waiting on my time.”
Wicks’ seven drops haven’t all been the same, but they have all come in only three games: Three in a Sept. 29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, two in an Oct. 6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and two in the Packers’ Nov. 3 pre-bye loss to the Detroit Lions.
He enters Sunday’s matchup with the Bears with 16 catches for 192 yards and a team-best four touchdowns on 43 targets.
Only Jayden Reed (36 receptions for 620 yards and three TDs on 47 targets) and Romeo Doubs (30 receptions for 412 yards and two TDs on 45 targets) have had the ball thrown their way more often than Wicks.
But Wicks’ catch percentage (37.2%) ranks last in the NFL among players with at least 25 targets, and his seven drops are tied for the second-most in the league this season, behind only Cleveland Browns-turned-Buffalo Bills wideout Amari Cooper (11).
“He’s got some really good hands, for sure,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich insisted after practice Thursday. “So you go back and are like, ‘All right, what’s your weekly process with how you warm up? How do you train your hands? What are you doing?’ And you’ve just got to make tweaks. And we’ve done that.
“Hopefully, we see the results from that moving forward. But I have a ton of confidence in Tay, and I know whatever issues we have with the catching, we’ll get those resolved. And I’m excited about that.”
At least some of the challenge for Wicks has been quarterback Jordan Love’s inaccuracy as he’s missed extended playing time because of the knee and groin injuries he sustained during the first half of the season.
One of Wicks’ drops against the Vikings was on a very low throw from Love, and at least three others have been on balls thrown behind him.
Coming off the bye, Love has been a full participant in both practices this week, which should allow the two to rekindle their chemistry.
“That’s just up to me and J-Love to fix. J-Love, he’s going to own up to his (mistakes), I’m going to own up to mine,” Wicks said. “There’s plays out there to be made. I just have to come down with them, no matter where he throws it. That’s how you become great. I’m just working on every catch, every angle. That’s what’s going to help.”
In addition to spending extra time with Love, Wicks has also done extra work catching balls from the JUGS machine. But the most important work will be during 11-on-11 periods in practice, where head coach Matt LaFleur has upped the number of No. 1 offense-versus-No. 1 defense sessions to make the practices more competitive.
Those are the kinds of plays Wicks wasn’t getting with Love while Love worked through his injuries.
“Practice matters, for sure. Because you work on the stuff you’re going to do in the game,” Wicks said. “It helps you be more comfortable and confident, and it helps you play faster, too. But he’s had a little time out of practice. We’re going to get it right.”
And that, Wicks believes, starts Sunday.
“I’m just going to continue getting open, giving him somewhere to throw,” Wicks said. “Most of the time I’m out there, I feel like I’m open. I’ve got confidence in my routes, what I can do. I’ve got confidence in my catching.
“It just ain’t working how we want it right now, and that happens. So we’ll just keep working, outwork what’s going on right now. And I feel like I’ll see the light at the end.”
