With Davante Adams trading in his cheese head for the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip this offseason, most assumed the Green Bay Packers would draft a wide receiver during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday.
After all, Aaron Rodgers can't win a third straight MVP throwing to Allen Lazard and Amari Rodgers, can he?
But there was no new offensive weapon under the draft Christmas tree for Rodgers on Thursday. Instead, Green Bay bulked up its defense with the selection of Georgia linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. While Rodgers has had his issues with the Packers' team-building strategy in the past, the star quarterback claims he understood the choices since the top six receivers were already off the board.
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“I believe it was six receivers they had first-round grades on, and when they were gone, I think it was pretty obvious they wanted to shore up those two spots,” Rodgers told Pat McAfee on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday night.
However, Rodgers still needs receiving help. The Packers reportedly are interested in trading for Raiders' tight end Darren Waller, but that doesn't seem likely this offseason. The Philadelphia Eagles traded for A.J. Brown on Thursday, and the Arizona Cardinals acquired Marquise Brown from the Baltimore Ravens.
While A.J. and Marquise Brown found new homes, Deebo Samuel remains a 49er as San Francisco opted not to trade the star receiver despite his request. So, is Samuel an option for Rodgers and the Packers?
Rodgers knows it's unlikely that the 49ers, who have eliminated the Packers from the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, would trade their best offensive player to Green Bay.
“I think we’ve been in the mix with some of these guys. That’s what it seems like,” Rodgers told McAfee. “Now, there’s not a lot of teams that probably 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 in the (conference), a guy like Deebo (Samuel) probably. But at the same time, I think if you’re not going to pay Davante -- obviously we traded him; he wanted to move on -- but going out and paying another guy, I don’t know if that makes a ton of sense.
"Now there are some veteran guys out there that I think could be possibilities, and also we have two picks in the second round tomorrow, and I’m sure there are some guys on the board that they probably like. Yeah, I feel like we’ve been in the mix, but does San Fran want to trade Deebo Samuel to us? I don't think so.”
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Samuel, 26, is coming off a breakout season with the 49ers in which he caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for 365 yards and eight scores. Samuel also memorably picked up the game-clinching third down in the 49ers' NFC divisional round upset over the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers will need more weapons if the Packers plan to contend for a Super Bowl next season. But it's unlikely Samuel will be heading from the Bay to Green Bay.