After a sluggish opening to the year, the Packers have found their rhythm, and a big reason why is the way Jordan Love has caught fire with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden at his side. Love is playing the best football of his career, and Green Bay’s receiving pair has helped cover for the loss of Jayden Reed, who went down with a neck injury in Week 2 and is out for the year.
That’s the easy part. The harder question is where Watson and Golden fit compared with the rest of the NFC North.
The division is loaded with pass-catching talent, and every team can make some kind of case. But when you line up the duos side by side, Green Bay comes out on top.
Minnesota still has the division’s best individual receiver in Justin Jefferson, who has 258 yards, 19 catches and three touchdowns in four games. Jordan Addison has 163 yards, 11 receptions and one score, but his place as the second option is complicated by tight end T.J.
Hockenson, who is second on the Vikings in targets and receptions. Addison and Hockenson are tied with one touchdown apiece, and Jefferson’s numbers would look even stronger if he had not missed the Dolphins game in Week 4.
He returned the next week and should have no issue climbing back up.
Chicago’s situation is a little different. Luther Burden III has lived up to the offseason hype, and by the numbers alone he would be the No. 3 receiver in the NFC North right now.
His 130-yard explosion on Thursday Night Football was eye-catching, though it also juiced his totals a bit. Even with that performance, he still hasn’t overtaken Golden and Watson.
Rome Odunze has stayed healthy, but inconsistency and a lack of touchdowns have kept the Bears lower in the ranking.
Detroit has its own firepower, too. Amon-Ra St.
Brown and Jameson Williams can put up big numbers when the Lions offense is rolling, but so far both have trailed the Packers’ duo. Not by a huge margin, but enough to leave Green Bay ahead.
The wrinkle in Detroit is that Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs are major pieces of the passing game as well, which is great for Jared Goff and less helpful if you’re trying to win a receiver ranking. That’s why the Lions land at No.
Watson and Golden have made the strongest statement of all. Watson had never topped 700 receiving yards in a season, yet Green Bay still gave him a multi-year extension in the offseason.
Now he’s on pace to set career highs in catches and yards, with a shot at more than 1,200 receiving yards at this rate. That’s a lot of production for the price.
Golden has answered his own questions, too. There were doubts about whether he could take another step in his sophomore season, but his breakout playoff showing against the Bears offered a hint of what was coming.
He has kept that momentum going and given Love another dangerous target. The one blemish is the drops, since Golden is leading the league in that category, but the upside is obvious.
If that part gets cleaned up, this quarterback-wideout pairing, with Watson alongside it, could be even more dangerous.
In Other News...
Josh Jacobs Returns As Packers Face A Huge Week 7 Decision
Josh Jacobs is back on Green Bays active roster, giving the Packers another layer to sort through as they head into a pivotal Week 7. The move comes after he had been away on the NFL commissioners exempt list while handling legal issues tied to a domestic violence incident, and his return restores a player the team has been building around when available.
Matt LaFleur has already made clear he is willing to stand behind Jacobs, framing the situation in terms of second chances and what the Packers believe the running back can still mean on the field. The football side now shifts to Green Bays immediate plans, with Jacobs expected to be available as the Packers prepare for a major divisional test. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Add Receiver As Injuries Force Another Week 7 Shuffle
Another week, another roster adjustment for Green Bay as the Packers continue to juggle their depth chart heading into Week Seven. Linebacker Zaire Franklin is set to miss Sundays game with a shin injury, but the expectation is that his absence will be brief rather than something that lingers into the back half of the season.
The bigger change comes on the receiver side, where Skyy Moore has been placed on injured reserve after suffering an ankle sprain, meaning he will be out for several weeks. To help fill the opening, Green Bay added Coleman Owen from the Indianapolis Colts practice squad and put him on the 53-man roster, another reminder that the Packers are still looking for the right mix of availability and production as injuries keep forcing shuffles. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Just Got A Tougher NFC North Test In Detroit
The Lions got a meaningful defensive lift heading into their Week 7 meeting with Green Bay, activating safety Brian Branch from the Reserve/PUP list and clearing him to play in the divisional matchup. Branch has been out since Dec. 4, 2025, and Detroit is counting on his presence to give its defense a boost as it prepares for one of the NFC Norths more important early-season tests.
For the Packers, it adds another layer to a game that already carried plenty of weight in the division race. Branch has not played since last December, so there is still some uncertainty around how quickly he settles back in, but Detroits willingness to get him on the field says plenty about how seriously it views this matchup. If he is anywhere close to his usual impact, Green Bay will have a tougher afternoon in the middle of the field. [Read more 🡒]