Jayden Reed isn’t sounding the alarm after a quiet opening week, even if the stat line wasn’t what he or the Green Bay Packers wanted.
The Packers’ offense had plenty to like in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but Reed was not one of the headline performers. Green Bay jumped out to a 22-10 lead before everything unraveled in the fourth quarter, when Minnesota poured in 22 unanswered points and handed the Packers a 39-22 defeat.
That finish left the Packers with more than enough to sort through as they turn their attention to the New York Jets. The biggest issue in Week 1 was the offensive line, which struggled badly. Jordan Love was sacked four times, hit 15 times and dealt with ten unblocked pressures, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Even so, Love still posted a big day through the air, throwing for 387 yards and two touchdowns before a late interception as the game slipped away. Christian Watson accounted for two of those scores, while Matthew Golden opened his second season with six catches for 95 yards. Tucker Kraft, back from an ACL injury and working under a new contract, added three receptions for 65 yards and averaged 21.7 yards per catch.
Reed, though, had a quieter role in the offense. He caught three passes on seven targets for 20 yards and was clearly behind Golden, who saw 12 targets, and Watson, who was targeted eight times.
Still, Reed isn’t treating the performance like a problem.
"It's not frustrating," Reed said, per Mike Spofford of Packers.com. "Every read can't go your way. When the ball finds you, you'll get that opportunity."
He pointed to the reality of Green Bay’s offense: there’s only one ball, and Love can only go through so many options on each snap, especially with the protection breaking down the way it did against Minnesota.
"J-Love, he's only got two eyes, you know what I'm saying? He can't find everybody that's open on every play.
He's going to go with his read and play fast and make the right read. He does a great job of that, and when your opportunity comes, you've just got to capitalize," Reed said.
For the Packers, that means Reed may need a little more help getting involved. The way he can hurt defenses, especially on routes crossing the middle against zone coverage, gives Green Bay another lever to pull as it tries to keep this offense moving.
Through his first three NFL seasons, Reed has already put together 138 catches for 1,857 yards and 15 touchdowns.
In Other News...
Javon Hargrave Already Has Packers Fans Worried About His Role
Javon Hargraves first game in Green Bay gave Packers fans plenty to monitor along the defensive front. In Week 1, he played 30 snaps, finished with one tackle and did not register a pressure, while the Packers leaned on a by-committee rotation across the defensive line. Karl Brooks got the start at defensive end over Hargrave, which added another wrinkle to a unit still sorting out how it wants to deploy its pieces.
For a player brought in with bigger expectations, the opening usage looked more restrained than many around the team probably imagined. It is still far too early to make any firm judgments, but the snap count and the way Green Bay distributed work up front suggest Hargrave may have a more limited role than expected unless the rotation shifts in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Just Sent A Clear Message About O-Line Depth
The Packers added another piece to their offensive line room this week, signing Cordell Volson to the practice squad after he worked out with the team. Volson arrives with NFL experience after originally being drafted by the Bengals, and he spent part of this offseason with the Titans before not making their final roster.
Green Bay has been active in using the practice squad to build depth with outside additions, and Volsons signing is part of that wider approach. For a team that has spent the season keeping an eye on its protection options, every extra lineman on hand matters, especially when the front office is clearly making sure there are workable answers if the need arises. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Love Already Has Packers Fans Debating One Week 1 Problem
Week 1 brought an early quarterback sorting exercise in the NFC North, and Jordan Love landed in the middle of the conversation for all the usual reasons. The Packers quarterback put up plenty of yardage even while dealing with pressure, but the kind of up-and-down start that can define an opening game still left people weighing the good against the bad. In a division where every quarterback performance gets scrutinized quickly, Loves debut did enough to keep Green Bay fans talking.
The broader ranking also had plenty of moving parts, from Carson Wentz making an effective relief appearance for the Vikings to Jared Goff turning in a mixed outing for the Lions and Caleb Williams getting off to a strong start for the Bears. The list is meant to be fluid and shaped by both recent play and career body of work, which is why Loves spot feels more like an early checkpoint than a verdict. For Packers fans, the question now is whether the Week 1 pressure points were just an opening hiccup or the first sign of something more familiar. [Read more 🡒]