The Green Bay Packers have spent the past several years hunting for a true No. 1 wide receiver to fill the void Davante Adams left behind after his departure following the 2021 campaign.
Now, the opportunity to potentially land two in the same offseason has presented itself.
Green Bay drafted Matthew Golden out of Texas in the first round of this year’s NFL draft (No. 23 overall), presumably with the intention of developing him into the first option as early as his rookie season.
Golden’s presence on the roster is likely to result in the Packers trading at least one of the many No. 2 or No. 3 options in the wide receiver room, and the chance to do so may have just arrived through a trade request submitted by Terry McLaurin to the Washington Commanders.
https://x.com/Schultz_Report/status/1951050107748557025
“BREAKING: #Commanders All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin has requested a trade, multiple sources tell me,” Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported Thursday, July 31.
Packers May Be Able to Trade for Terry McLaurin Without Giving Up 1st-Round Pick
What McLaurin might fetch in trade is a matter of debate, though ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggested Wednesday that he doesn’t have first-round value, despite being a No. 1 option.
“Commanders fans don’t want to find out whether they can land a premium pick for WR Terry McLaurin, whose public battle for a new contract has felt like a relic of the Daniel Snyder days,” Barnwell wrote. “As good as I believe McLaurin is, it would be tough to see a team trading a first-round pick for a wideout who turns 30 in September.”
McLaurin is a two-time Pro Bowler who earned second-team All-Pro honors last season, his fifth straight with at least 1,000 yards receiving. He pulled down 13 touchdowns last year as well, which was a career high.
Green Bay could put together a competitive offer of a future second-round pick (or an asset package of equal value) and a starting-caliber receiver like Dontayvion Wicks or Romeo Doubs that might intrigue the Commanders if they can’t reach resolution with McLaurin.
Trade for Terry McLaurin Could Help Put Packers Over the Top in NFC North
However, the Packers would also need to consider the matter of McLaurin’s future compensation.
“I would say that DK Metcalf was in the same draft class as Terry McLaurin. He got about $33 million a year. I wouldn’t think Terry wants to take less than that, and I think he wants considerably more than that,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week. “[The Commanders] love and value Terry McLaurin, but they love and value him at a different price. These two sides right now seem apart on a deal. They don’t seem close today, and I don’t know how they’re going to get that resolved.”
McLaurin is on the cusp of the final year of his current $68.4 million deal.
Paying him upwards of $35 million per season is a tough sell, but the Packers have an elite-level quarterback in Jordan Love and an overall roster that’s good enough to hunt a deep playoff run if they make a couple more strong moves. The team has been in the postseason in each of that past two Januaries and must keep pace in a tough NFC North that sent three teams to the playoffs in 2024.
