The Green Bay Packers will soon have a decision to make in terms of roster construction: should general manager Brian Gutekunst get aggressive at the trade deadline, stand pat or admit defeat and sell?
The deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 1. One week away.
Many will argue the Packers need to aggressively seek out and acquire a veteran wide receiver to help spark the offense. During each of the last few seasons, Gutekunst and the Packers have explored trade scenarios for wide receivers but failed to find the right fit.
This team needs a receiver. Now more than ever. No arguing that.
But this year isn’t like previous seasons. In 2020 and 2021, the Packers might have been a wide receiver away from something big. In 2022, the Packers hardly have a pulse, and a new wide receiver isn’t going to be a magic cure for everything that ails this team.
Does Gutekunst really want to spend draft capital – that he might really need if this becomes a team in transition following the 2022 season – on a player that probably isn’t going to move the needle significantly for a middling team?
Draft capital can be overrated, sure. Ask the Rams. But the Packers might need all the picks they can get to prep for a soft landing on the other side of this.
Here’s a better scenario, in my mind: The Packers should stand pat at the deadline and see if the team starts playing better down the stretch. If they do, Gutekunst can get ultra-aggressive about signing Odell Beckham Jr., who is probably better than any receiver who is actually available in a trade scenario right now.
It would be much easier to argue that the Packers should aggressively target a wide receiver if it looked like acquiring a pass-catcher would push this team from mediocre to contender. At this point, there are too many broken parts to believe just adding a wide receiver to the mix will get everything running the right way again.
The Packers just lost games to Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson and Taylor Heinicke in consecutive weeks. Josh Allen is up next.
Adding a wide receiver as the “final” piece made sense in 2020 and even 2021. In 2022? I’m not sure putting lipstick on this pig is worth the cost and effort.
