After a disappointing 2024 season from the wide receiver group overall, the Green Bay Packers are hoping to "clean up" the number of drops in the passing game to help power improvement from the position in 2025.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said the team took a "deep dive" into the drop problem and discovered most of the drops from the receivers were "focus" -- and not talent -- related.
"That’s an area that we have to clean up," LaFleur said from the Annual League Meeting in Florida this week, via Jason Wilde of Channel 3000.
By most stat trackers, the Packers ranked among the leaders in drops last season. At pro-football-reference.com, the Packers were credited with 33 drops -- tied for the third most -- and a drop rate of 6.9 percent -- the second highest. At Pro Football Focus, Jayden Reed's 10 drops ranked as the second most among wide receivers, while Dontayvion Wicks' drop rate of 17.0 percent ranked second and Reed's 15.4 percent ranked third. Players dropped 8.2 percent of passes thrown by Jordan Love, ranking as the seventh highest among quarterbacks during the regular season.
LaFleur admitted some of the catches were on difficult throws, so better ball placement from quarterbacks is part of the solution. The biggest part, however, might be better focus from the receivers at the catch point.
“You’ve got to finish the catch. Some of those were some challenging balls to catch, but ultimately that’s what they get paid to do," LaFleur said. "You’ve got to catch the ball and that’s got to be primary. I think most of it was focus related. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort or skill. I think our guys are capable. I think we’ve seen that from them.”
Simply finishing more catches could solve a lot of problems for the passing game. Reed is a dynamic player with the ball in his hands and can be a difference-maker when he's making catches and gaining yards after the catch. Wicks is an elite separator, and the second-most part of playing receiver -- behind actually catching the ball -- is consistently getting open. He's also underrated after the catch. Even Romeo Doubs, who was terrific on contested catches last season, could be better -- he dropped five passes and had a drop percentage of almost 10 percent.
There is hope -- focus is something a professional football player can easily work on and improve in a relatively short period of time. It's much harder to become an elite separator or dynamic after the catch in one offseason.
The Packers won't have Christian Watson -- who dropped only two passes last season -- for a good chunk of the 2025 season while recovers from knee surgery. The passing game will need Reed, Wicks and Doubs to be more consistent catching the football, even when throws aren't perfect, for the passing game to take a step forward and rebound from last year's disappointing finish.
The Packers will likely add a receiver via the draft, but internal improvement is always the team's preferred way of progression. For the receivers, fixing the drops is the most obvious path to improvement.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers hoping to clean up lack-of-focus drops in passing game in 2025
