The Green Bay Packers will transition from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love during the 2023 season. But Love isn’t the only recent draft pick likely to play a lot more snaps this season. The Packers went young this offseason and several recent picks will need to take on bigger roles in 2023. It’s the cycle of life in football; young replacing old.
Here are a few recent draft picks likely to get a big boost in playing time in 2023:
DL Devonte Wyatt
2022 snap count: 224
Wyatt, a 2022 first-round pick, may need to triple his snap count in 2023. Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry, who both departed in free agency, played almost 1,200 total snaps along the defensive line last season. The Packers didn’t make a veteran addition, so Wyatt will almost certainly shoulder most of the load as the three-down lineman next to Kenny Clark. The former Georgia Bulldog flashed disruptive moments down the stretch, and the Packers want him being a disruptor in his second season. The physical traits are there, but can Wyatt figure out the processing part of the equation? Given the lack of depth up front, Wyatt’s development in Year 2 might be a make-or-break factor for the Packers defense.
OL Zach Tom
2022 snap count: 489
Tom was on the field plenty as a rookie, playing snaps at four different positions along the offensive line and holding his own at both left and right tackle. The Packers are going into OTAs still determining the depth chart at center, right guard and right tackle, opening the door for Tom to become a starter and possibly double his snaps in Year 2. It’s hard to envision how Tom wouldn’t be one of the Packers’ five best starters up front, but figuring the best combination is still a work in progress.
WRs Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs
2022 snap count: 507 (Watson), 529 (Doubs)
We’ll bunch these two together because Watson and Doubs are riding in the same boat. While both started games as rookies, the 2022 second-round pick and 2022 fourth-round pick are assumed starters entering 2023. Playing around 80 percent of the offense’s snaps means being on the field for 900ish snaps in a 17-game season. The Packers need Watson and Doubs to be the top targets in the passing game as sophomores.
DL TJ Slaton
2022 snap count: 333
The Packers need Slaton to emerge as a quality starter from a 2021 draft class that is looking worse and worse as time passes. The fifth-rounder is a big body who can move and clog run lanes. Like Devonte Wyatt, Slaton is about to see his snaps rise in a big way in 2023. Playing 500 or more snaps isn’t out of the question for the 330-pounder.
