Jordan Love predicts this Packers receiver will have a “monster year”

While the Green Bay Packers don’t have a traditional No. 1 wide receiver, Jordan Love has plenty of talented receivers to distribute the ball to in Matt LaFleur’s offense. When asked in an “Ask Me Anything” segment for Bleacher Report, Love said second-year pro Dontayvion Wicks will have a special season for the Packers. Watch out!

Wicks was a sensational player for the Virginia Cavaliers in college. Although his time in Charlottesville coincided with Bronco Mendenhall’s retirement and Tony Elliott’s takeover, as well as the terrible tragedy that ended the Hoos’ 2022 season prematurely, this guy is an incredible playmaker. Even as a rookie last year in Green Bay, Wicks had 39 catches for 581 yards and four touchdowns.

Love can’t say enough good things about the former fifth-round pick from Virginia.

“I think Dontayvion Wicks is going to have a monster this year. I think he was able to do a lot of phenomenal things last year. I think the sky’s the limit for him. His confidence is growing and growing. The more reps he gets, the more comfortable he is in the system and just playing fast.”

To be completely honest, I really hope it works out for both sides. Wicks’ last season in Charlottesville went awry and cost him valuable money on his rookie contract. Turmoil in the program took that pick away from him on day two and made him an afterthought on day three. He could be the best wide receiver to play in Virginia since Herman Moore, who might want to reconsider potentially coming to Canton someday.

If Love can lead the Packers to 11 wins with the help of a 1,000-yard season from Wicks, then Go Pack Go!

You have to remember that half the league goes undrafted. Wicks doesn’t meet that criteria, but we’ve seen several underdrafted wide receivers wreak havoc in this league for years. Green Bay can maintain its elite performance by handling the draft well. The Packers rarely enter free agent deals like other NFL teams generally do. Green Bay could win more, but as they’re set up, they win enough.

I think with a player like Wicks, you hope timing and preparation come together to help him make his own luck. Nobody could have predicted that the UVA football program would fall apart in the wake of Mendenhall’s surprise exodus after the 2021 college football season. Three years later, he’s back in the FBS, taking over the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque, of all places. What if he had just stayed at Virginia?

The good news is that the Packers have a strong football culture that won’t fall apart if a key figure leaves the program. They’ve gone from one Hall of Fame quarterback to another Hall of Fame quarterback over the course of 30-plus years, to the greatest since the invention of sliced ​​bread, from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers to Love. But what does Love have to do with it (does it have anything to do with it)? Again, absolutely everything.

It will be up to the Packers quarterback to give himself, Wicks and Green Bay the best year possible.