National Football League

Did Packers fail Aaron Rodgers by not drafting a first-round WR?

Updated Apr. 29, 2022 7:51 p.m. ET

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A record six wide receivers were selected within the first 20 picks of the 2022 NFL Draft. Three were acquired via trade, as were Pro Bowler A.J. Brown and recent first-rounder Marquise Brown. 

Wideouts have never been in higher demand.

No Super Bowl contender possessed a greater need for a go-to receiver heading into Thursday than the Green Bay Packers, who held two picks in the 20s. Their choices: an inside linebacker and a defensive tackle.

Or, as Colin Cowherd joked Friday, "they didn’t do anything." 

Packers' offense took a backseat in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft

With the Packers going defense with their two first-round picks Thursday, Colin Cowherd says this is proof that the Packers are not trying to appease quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

It certainly might have felt like that to Packers fans looking for the organization to break its 19-year streak of not drafting a wide receiver in the first round. There’s always next year. Or, as Cowherd noted, there’s always the second round, which is where Green Bay has mined the likes of Davante Adams, Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson during Rodgers’ career.

The Packers believe WR Christian Watson is their next second-round jewel, trading pick Nos. 53 and 59 to the Vikings to draft the North Dakota State product at 34 on Friday. Before the move, Cowherd was already giving team brass benefit of the doubt.

"Outside of the Jordan Love pick, they draft pretty well," he said. "They develop pretty well. They draft and develop. They always tend to draft well at wide receiver."

It’s a sentiment echoed by Aaron Rodgers himself, while appearing on "The Pat McAfee Show" during Day 1 of the draft.

"I'm sure Packer nation will be wondering why we didn't take a receiver or trade up," Rodgers said. "But at this point, you've just got to have some faith in the organization and faith that whoever we bring in (Friday) and the rest of this draft, I'm going to put in the time to make it work with those guys and we're going to find a way in Matt (LaFleur)'s offense to be successful – like we always have. 

"It's not going to be any different this year, we're going to be in the mix."

What is different at the moment is that the Packers still don’t have a No. 1 receiver. Rodgers has never dealt with such a dilemma in 14 years as a starter. Moreover, his track record with rookies isn’t the most encouraging. 

The four-time MVP noted Thursday that he was surprised by Adams being traded to the Raiders. Rodgers added that he had been open with the All-Pro receiver about how much longer he planned to play and expected Adams would be back on board in Green Bay. It's left a gaping hole in the Packers' receiving corps that they've yet to fill. According to Rodgers, who expressed no opposition to their Day 1 draft decisions, it's not due to a lack of effort.

"I think we've been in the mix for some of these guys," Rodgers said. "Now, there's probably not a lot of teams that want to trade receivers to Green Bay. I think we're probably at the back of the line for a lot of these teams, as far as our picks are usually late and nobody wants to trade within the (conference) a guy like Deebo (Samuel). There's some veteran guys out there that I think could be possibilities."

If so, there aren't many. Cowherd asserted that Green Bay not selecting a receiver at No. 22 or 28, not moving up in the first round for the better prospects, and thus far not trading for a splashy veteran on the market is rooted in the club's process, as well as its all-world QB’s fickle nature. 

"They’re not going to reach to appease a 38-year-old quarterback. When Aaron said I’m 50-50 on retirement … I thought that was a huge mistake," Cowherd said. "And I think Mark Murphy pointed out in the last month, the president of the Packers, we don’t have a three-year deal with Aaron. We have three one-year deals. We’re not going to reach. It’s not who we are, it’s not our blueprint. And by the way, we keep winning our division and getting to the playoffs."   

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