The Jacksonville Jaguars spent a lot of money to sign two receivers in free agency. The Miami Dolphins signed a receiver early in free agency and then swung a trade for Tyreek Hill. Suddenly, both teams have crowded situations at wide receiver.
Enter the Green Bay Packers.
Two names – one from Jacksonville, and one Miami – could help the Packers solve their own wide receiver problem. There’s no crowding issue to worry about in Green Bay. The Packers need help after losing Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling this month.
Laviska Shenault and DeVante Parker should be prime trade targets for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.
The Jaguars could be looking to deal Shenault after signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency. Kirk is primarily a slot receiver. The team also added tight end Evan Engram, who operates mostly from the slot. It’s going to be difficult to incorporate Shenault into the offense now developing in Jacksonville.
While miscast with the Jaguars, Shenault could be a fun fit with Matt LaFleur and the Packers.
In the Deebo Samuel mold, he’s part receiver and part gadget weapon. Samuel is a one-of-one type player, but Shenault moves and operates in similar ways and could be used by LaFleur as a versatile weapon out wide, in the slot and in the backfield. He’s a player that can create yards and chunk plays with the ball in his hands in space. It will take a creative play-designer and play-caller to maximize Shenault’s potential, and LaFleur has exactly the blueprint in what good friend Kyle Shanahan has done with Samuel.
The 42nd overall pick in the 2020 draft has 150 career touches (121 catches, 29 rushes) gaining 1,351 yards and five touchdowns. Injuries haven’t been much of a factor; he’s missed only three games in two seasons.
Shenault doesn’t turn 24 until October and could provide a big dose of talent, versatility and playmaking ability to a receiver room that needs all three.
If the Packers aren’t interested in their own version of Deebo Samuel, DeVante Parker in Miami also makes sense as a more traditional “X” receiver.
Like Shenault in Jacksonville, there’s a logjam blocking Parker’s path to snaps in Miami. The Dolphins signed Cedrick Wilson and traded for Hill, and Jaylen Waddle is coming off a terrific rookie season. At this moment, Parker may not be anything more than a co-No. 3 receiver in the Dolphins offense.
Parker isn’t Davante Adams, but he could do a fine impersonation. In 2019, he caught 72 passes for 1,202 yards and nine scores from Ryan Fitzpatrick, but a mix of injuries and poor quarterback play has held him back the last two years. He’s missed 20 games in seven seasons, including seven last year, so there’s obvious injury risk in the 29-year-old receiver. But Parker is averaging around 4.5 catches and over 60 yards per game over the last three seasons, so he’s producing when on the field. Playing with Aaron Rodgers as a primary target could be more than enough to boost his production back to 2019 levels.
Parker doesn’t have world-class speed but he can be a deep threat, especially with Rodgers in the Packers offense. In fact, he’s been at his best in his career when allowed to make plays down the field. During his first two NFL seasons, he averaged 15.1 yards per catch and over nine yards per target. In 2019. he created seven catches of at least 40 yards and 16 of 20 or more.
It’s hard to imagine a deal involing Shenault or Parker to cost more than a Day 3 pick. Both are stuck in crowded position groups with high-cost investments ahead of them.
The Packers will like the contract situation for each player. Shenault is still on the rookie deal and would cost under $2 million in cap space each of the next two seasons. Parker is out of guaranteed money on his deal and would have cap numbers around $6 million each of the next two years. The Packers can afford to add both players if needed.
Gutekunst is in a tricky spot at receiver. He has four top-60 picks in next month’s draft, but he also has a four-time NFL MVP quarterback and a roster otherwise ready to compete for a Super Bowl in 2022. The Packers need more than just a couple of rookies at receiver. Adding veteran help like Shenault or Parker (or both?) at low cost would drastically improve the outlook of the receiver position entering the draft and give the Packers a chance to be competitive at the position during a Super Bowl run in 2022.
