Entering the 2025 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers passing offense felt like a bit of a mystery without a clear go-to top option for Jordan Love.
After a disappointing year and the Packers spending first round draft capital at the wide receiver position in over 20 years, one fantasy analyst has tagged a talented veteran Green Bay WR as a player to avoid in 2025.
Jayden Reed Named as a WR to Avoid in Fantasy Drafts in 2025
The Green Bay Packers decision to select Texas WR Matthew Golden with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft sent a message that the organization doesn’t believe they have enough firepower around quarterback Jordan Love to get the most out of him entering his third year as the starting signal caller of the franchise.
This move combined with some other usage data has Kevin Tompkins of FantasyPros naming Jayden Reed as a potentially disappointing option for fantasy managers in 2025.
Tompkins wrote, “In most systems, Reed should be a burgeoning star. In this case, it’s the system holding Reed back from that. He’s been efficient with two straight seasons of 2.00+ yards per route run (YPRR), and he even has rushing upside, averaging 140 yards on the ground in both seasons. Last season saw Reed put up over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. But 75 targets in 17 games won’t do it. Averaging 4.4 targets per game definitely won’t cut it.”
Reed looked like a future star after his explosive 2024 debut against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles with four receptions for 138 yards and a score in Week 1.
Unfortunately, Love got injured on the final drive of the season opener — which saw the Packers shift to a more run-oriented team in the coming weeks. This led to Reed producing just 51 receptions for 719 yards and five scores over the next 16 games.
Tompkins added, “Green Bay was a bottom-three team in pass rate over expected last season and had the third-fewest team pass attempts last season at 479. That’s only higher than the Philadelphia Eagles (447) and the Baltimore Ravens (477) — two passing offenses that have much more condensed target distributions than Green Bay did last season, and likely will this season.”
How Will the Additions of Matthew Golden and Savion Williams Impact Reed’s Role in 2025?
Much of the focus amongst the Packer faithful has centered around the addition of Matthew Golden in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he wasn’t the only wide receiver the team added to the roster this offseason. Green Bay also used a third round pick on TCU WR Savion Williams, who is a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands, who could push Reed for looks in the manufactured touch game (screens, jet sweeps) in 2025.
Tompkins concluded, “With so many mouths to feed in the Packers’ offense this season and how devoted to the run Green Bay was last season, it’s a tough call to select Jayden Reed this season unless we see a monumental shift in their offensive approach.”
The addition of these two rookies combined with the production of other incumbent players like Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and Dontavyion Wicks doesn’t exactly give Reed a compelling case for a breakout year in 2025.
Ultimately, the Packers passing offense is filled with more question marks than answers entering the season. Reed has proven to be an explosive playmaker at moments throughout his first two years in the league, but will have some extra competition for targets in a run-heavy offense entering the 2025 NFL season.
