Proposed NFL Trade Has Packers Acquire $19 Million Star Before Deadline
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Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
The Green Bay Packers are coming out of their bye week looking to get back on track after failing to win their last two games, prompting speculation that they might make another move for a playmaker before the NFL trade deadline.
The Packers are well-stocked at the wide receiver position ahead of Week 6’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals at home, especially after they opened the activation window for starter Christian Watson on Monday and welcomed him back to the practice field.
Even still, some NFL analysts remain convinced that the Packers must seek out another reliable veteran for their receiver room to make up for starter Jayden Reed’s prolonged injury absence. And with the New Orleans Saints slumping after a 1-4 start to the year, Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame believes their target should be star Chris Olave.
Verderame proposed that the Packers trade their 2026 second-round pick to the Saints in exchange for Olave, who put up 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons.
“Jordan Love needs another reliable playmaker, especially with Jayden Reed sidelined due to injury and rookie Matthew Golden still finding his footing in the NFL,” Verderame wrote last week. “A trade for Olave would stretch the field for Love and extend the playbook for coach Matt LaFleur. Olave has 26 catches for 184 yards and one touchdown this season.”
Chris Olave Trade Makes Less Sense After 2025 Draft
Olave — the No. 11 overall pick in 2022 — is a talented receiver who would improve the firepower of the Packers offense. Earlier this year, it would have also made a lot of sense for the Packers to target him in a trade when they were still seeking more pass-catchers.
After the 2025 draft, though, the Packers have little reason to make a receiver trade.
In the spring, the Packers broke their decades-long trend of not selecting a receiver in the first round of the NFL draft when they selected Golden — a standout at Texas — with the No. 23 overall pick. They also circled back to the receiver position for TCU’s Savion Williams in the third round, significantly improving the quality of their position group.
While neither Golden nor Williams had their breakout moment through the first four games of the 2025 season, it is far too early for the Packers to be scrambling for more help, especially with Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks and tight end Tucker Kraft in place to offer Love more reliable and experienced targets in the passing game.
Additionally, Olave is not quite the knock-out trade target that Verderame pitched him to be. He has been impressively consistent for the Saints when healthy, catching 244 passes for 2,809 yards in 44 career games, but “when healthy” is an essential phrase. Olave played just four games in 2024 due to an injury, and he dealt with concussions a whopping
That’s a considerable red flag for a receiver who will cost roughly $15.49 million against the salary cap in 2026 — and plenty of reason alone for the Packers not to target him.
Could Packers Make WR Trade … to Offload a Talent?
The Packers seem highly unlikely to make a trade for another wide receiver in 2025, but could they consider trading one away
At the very least, it is more realistic than a trade for Olave.
The Packers are once again looking at a crowded receiver picture with Watson back at practice this week. Once he returns to the roster, they will need to figure out how best to divvy up the reps among Doubs, Watson, Wicks, Golden and Williams — and that only gets more challenging for them when Reed returns to the mix later on in the season.
While the Packers won’t want to jump the gun, there is logic in them offloading one of their wide receivers before the deadline. Doubs is the most likely candidate, given that he is in the midst of a contract year, but he has been Love’s most reliable receiver over the first four games. A strong offer could persuade them to trade him away, but it would almost certainly take a Day 2 pick for the Packers to even consider dealing away Doubs.
Alternatively, Wicks could make more sense. He has another season left on his rookie deal, but the Packers already have Reed, Golden, Williams and Watson signed for 2026. If the right offer comes in, the Packers could justify offloading Wicks at the deadline.
Bucs kept their word with Emeka Egbuka and it has him on track for a historical season
A lot of people questioned the Emeka Egbuka pick back in April, but mostly because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a loaded wide receiver room at the time. Even with Chris Godwin Jr. still recovering from his previous ankle injury.
Flash forward to less than six months later and Jason Licht and Co. look like absolute geniuses. Not only is Egbuka a major contributor through five weeks - he's easily the odds-on favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
His impact has been impossible to miss. He's already made NFL history as the first wideout to record at least 25 receptions, 400 yards, and five touchdowns during the first five games of a career. In totality, Egbuka is seventh all-time in yards, tied for sixth all-time in touchdowns, and 17th in receptions among all wide receivers during their first five games, ever.
Emeka Egbuka's stats through Week 5
- Receptions: 25
- Receiving yards: 445
- Touchdowns: 5
His 17.8 yards per reception are easily the highest out of all receivers with at least 25 catches over their first five games and his 65.8% catch rate is ninth-best among all wideouts with at least 38 targets over their first five contests.
That's pretty incredible when you think about it and a big reason why the success has come so quickly is because the Bucs know exactly how to play him to his strengths, just like they said when they drafted.
Bucs stick to their word when it comes to Egbuka's role on offense
"[He is the] total package," Todd Bowles told reporters after the Bucs took Egbuka in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. "He’s a playmaker, he can play all three positions – he plays in the slot, he plays the ‘Z,’ he plays the ‘X,’ he can run with the ball, he can throw the ball, he can catch the ball, he’s a very good route runner, he’s a winner, he makes contested catches, he’s a very precise route runner as well, has a lot of speed at the same time, he blocks at the same time…He checks all of the boxes as a player and as a person. That made it an easy choice.”
That's the key for Egbuka: He can play the X, Z, or F positions at a high level. That allows him to get moved around in order to create mismatches and that's what the Bucs have done so far this year. He's lined up all across the offense and it's allowed him to take full advantage of his route tree, which leads to big plays because defenses never know what's coming since he's not a one-trick, or even limited, player.
|
Route Type |
Usage Rate |
|
Hitch |
17.03% |
|
Go |
15.38% |
|
Out |
13.74% |
|
Cross |
12.64% |
|
Dig |
7.69% |
|
Corner |
7.14% |
|
Post |
6.59% |
|
Slant |
5.49% |
|
Screen |
3.30% |
|
Flat |
1.65% |
|
Comeback |
0.55% |
"At this level, you have to have talent, and obviously he has that, being a first-round draft pick," Baker Mayfield said back in June. "The thing that sticks out is how cerebral he is. He’s so smart. Right now, I think we could plug-and-play him at every [wide] receiver spot – he understands the offense that well. That’s just him being a pro already. He’s not a rookie – he doesn’t act like it at least."
This is exactly what good coaching looks like. The Bucs drafted a player and knew exactly how to use him. How many times have we seen teams draft/acquire players and end up trying to fit a square peg in a round hole?
There was always going to be room for Egbuka in the Bucs' passing attack, but the crop of injuries opened the door for him and thanks to both his abilities and the team's vision for him. He's done nothing but kick said door down from Day 1 and the future is bright as ever.
Egbuka is on pace to record one of the best rookie WR seasons in history
Right now, Egbuka is on track to finish 2025 with 85 receptions, 1,602 yards, and 17 touchdowns. The yardage would easily surpass Puka Nacua's record of the 1,473 yards he recorded back in 2023. His 89 yards per game would also beat out Justin Jefferson's mark of 87.5 when he set the record during the NFL's last 16-game season back in 2020. Meaning, the argument of Egbuka having an extra game to snatch the record wouldn't hold up very well.
And of course, the 17 receiving touchdowns would match the amount Randy Moss' caught back in 1998. Granted, the extra game argument would work in this example, but it would still be damn impressive considering the next-best mark is 13 touchdowns in a rookie season. That fact Egbuka would theoretically have four more than the second-best guy is pretty wild to think about.
It gets even wilder when thinking he could do even more damage as the Bucs' receiving corps gets healthier with the eventual returns of Evans and McMillan. There's also Godwin Jr. finally getting up to full speed, as well.
Everything is aligning for Egbuka. Now it's just about making it all happen.
