How did the Packers answer their biggest questions before Week 1?

The Leap asked three questions about the Packers back in June. The team has provided some answers, but some uncertainty remains.

The NFL regular season officially kicks off tomorrow, and the Green Bay Packers have turned their attention toward their opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. But even with meaningful football just around the corner, this moment between final cuts and Week 1 provides a valuable opportunity to revisit some important matters from the offseason.

Back in the heady days of the post-2024 NFL Draft period, The Leap posed three questions that the Packers needed to answer before the start of the regular season. In some instances, the team has indeed received clarity. However, some of these queries remain unanswered as the Eagles game approaches.

How do the wide receivers stack up entering 2024 and how should the coaching staff deploy them?

Answer: Inconclusive

For understandable reasons, many hoped to know how the Packers would stack their wide receivers entering the 2024 season. For understandable reasons, the team's coaching staff has grown tired of fielding questions about the matter.

"I want to vomit every time I heard 'No. 1 receiver' to be honest with you," head coach Matt LaFleur said in mid-August. "It drives me crazy. That's something you guys talk about. I feel like we got a bunch of them."

Don't mistake that disgust with the notion that Green Bay doesn't have a plan for their wideouts, however.

"I think the beauty of them is they're all capable of doing many things which gives us a lot of versatility from an offensive perspective in terms of how we use these guys and deploy their talents," LaFleur continued. "Especially those top four guys, they're all capable of being a No. 1 in some capacity. It's just how do we want to attack somebody and where do we want to put those guys?"

Those top four receivers can each make a credible claim as the most dangerous member of the group. Romeo Doubs appears to have the full trust of quarterback Jordan Love in high-leverage situations, especially in the red zone. Jayden Reed has the speed to stretch the field as well as the quickness and creativity to maximize jet motion and sweeps. Christian Watson possesses an extremely valuable size-speed combination and can provide instant offense with the ball in his hands. Dontayvion Wicks has the route-running skill to beat nearly any man coverage, a feel for finding the soft spots in zone, and the contact balance to break tackles and create after the catch.

All of which supports LaFleur's assertion that all four have the capability of No. 1 receiver in some form, but it doesn't provide clarity as to how the staff will deploy them. Watson and Doubs spent most of training camp and the only preseason game in which the No. 1 offense plays atop the depth chart at the boundary receiver spots with Reed working as the de facto slot. Still, Wicks shined as brightly as anyone during August and turned his lone exhibition snap into a long touchdown.

Given that the Packers ran the majority of their staple concepts last season for Wicks, it remains premature to relegate him below Doubs and Watson among the outside receivers. The situation looks as fluid as ever.

The Packers have provided a little more transparency with Reed. However. While all four of the wideouts have the flexibility to work on the boundary and inside, Reed has out-repped the others in the slot throughout camp. That probably gives him an advantage when Green Bay uses 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers). Reed also remains a fixture in two-receiver sets where he capably functions as the "Z." Health permitting, he seems to have the highest workload and production floor of the group.

Still, even if Reed's role seems fairly solidified, the rest probably won't become evident for weeks. Whether that ambiguity turns into a feature or a bug remains anyone's guess.