After the Green Bay Packers’ 23-10 preseason victory over the Cleveland Browns, head coach Matt LaFleur addressed the ongoing discussion about the team’s number one wide receiver. LaFleur expressed his frustration with the topic, stating that he despises the label and believes the team has a group of talented receivers.
During a press conference, LaFleur was asked about Dontayvion Wicks and where he fits among the top 4 wide receivers on the roster. LaFleur didn’t hold back in his response:
“I wanna vomit every time I hear ‘number one wide receiver’, to be honest with you. It drives me crazy. It’s something that you guys talk about. I feel like we’ve got a bunch of them.”
LaFleur went on to praise the versatility of all the receivers on the team and highlighted the benefits of not having a clear WR1.
“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. Especially those top 4 guys. They’re all capable of being a number one in some capacity…”
He also emphasized that the distribution of targets among the receivers will vary from week to week, similar to last season, providing the team with offensive flexibility.
For the full question and answer session, you can watch the video below starting at the 11-minute mark.
LaFleur has previously stated that he believes it doesn’t matter who the top wide receiver is, considering it a “good problem to have.”
It seems unlikely that LaFleur will declare a WR1 anytime soon, despite external pressure. Perhaps, he will follow in the footsteps of Nick Saban and respond with a firm refusal to name a number one wide receiver.