Packers Looking At Receivers As Well

The Green Bay Packers are going to sign someone in free agency, dammit! We don’t know how they’re going to do that just yet, but they’re apparently kicking the tires on the two biggest-name free agent receivers, Sammy Watkins and Allen Robinson.

Interestingly, the Chicago Bears are pursuing the same two guys.

If the Packers were to sign Robinson or Watkins things would get even more interesting. The team would almost certainly then have to release Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb. At the moment, they have around $30 million tied up in Nelson, Cobb and Davante Adams. Watkins and Robinson will likely get deals in that same $10 million annual range. So someone has to go.

Watkins is the more appealing of the two. Although he hasn’t really blown up like people thought when the Bills made him a first-round pick, he’s the type of big, fast target the Packers lack. Watkins has averaged more than 15 yards per catch in all four of his seasons. He caught 39 for 593 and eight touchdowns after being traded to the Rams in 2017.

Robinson is coming back from a torn ACL. His 2017 action was limited to one game with one catch. Robinson is actually bigger than Watkins, but not nearly as fast. Robinson broke out with 1,400 yards in 2015, but regressed the following year, when he went for 883 yards.

Another interesting tidbit: the Packers passed on Robinson to instead draft Adams, something that people incessantly pointed out when Adams was struggling.