Even with new offensive identity, Packers will explore veteran receiver market

In the wake of the Davante Adams trade, the Packers rebuilt their offense around Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. However, that doesn't mean they won't add receiver help later this year.

At the outset of the 2022 offseason, the Green Bay Packers seemed as though they could take a number of different paths. One possibility involved Aaron Rodgers signing an extension with the franchise and keeping the band together for at least another year. Another option, perhaps the scariest, would have seen Rodgers depart after 17 years in Green Bay, triggering an immediate rebuild and leading to an exodus of veterans. Those scenarios and plenty of others seemed plausible.

Still, few expected Rodgers to return without his main target, Davante Adams. In a shocking development, the Packers traded the All-Pro receiver to the Las Vegas Raiders for first- and second-round picks, a deal the team felt compelled to make due to Adams' desire to relocate closer to the West Coast and reunite with college teammate and close friend Derek Carr.

With the Packers' top receiver no longer in the fold and no heir apparent on the roster, an untold number of pundits and fans wondered how the team would transition from an offense dominated by Adams to one with no clear focal point.

But rather than recreate the offense with someone taking on Adams' workload, the Packers moved in a different direction. The coaching staff reconfigured the offense around the talents of star running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. Along with contributions from role players like Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Robert Tonyan, and Sammy Watkins along with promising rookies like Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, Jones and Dillon form the crux of Green Bay's new offensive identity.

But while the Packers demonstrated the ability to identify and exploit defensive weaknesses without a prototypical lead receiver, winning that way every week will likely prove difficult. Even with head coach Matt LaFleur's deep bag of schematic tricks, the offense will eventually have to resort to straight dropbacks without the crutch of the eye-candy motions and play-action. Even in more neutral situations, Jones and Dillon could face issues stemming from overuse. In those situations, the current crop of wideouts might well fall short.

Of course, the receiving corps doesn't have to remain static. With a win-now mandate and more than a month left before the NFL trade deadline, the Packers have multiple avenues to consider. In fact, they have already made overtures to other teams in an effort to add veteran pass catchers to Rodgers' arsenal.