The Green Bay Packers are beat up at the wide receiver position, and that might mean a real opportunity to see what rookie wideout Savion Williams is capable of this Sunday.
Heading into a Week 8 Sunday
Night Football showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Packers will be without Jayden Reed, who continues to rehab from foot and collarbone injuries, and Dontayvion Wicks, who will miss Sunday’s game with an ankle issue that’s forced him to leave multiple games early this season.
Packers fans are hopeful that Christian Watson will make his season debut after recovering from a torn ACL, but even if he’s cleared to play, he’ll likely be on a snap count in his first game back less than a year after his injury.
That leaves the Packers with few options at receiver. Romeo Doubs will continue to be Jordan Love’s favorite target, while first-round rookie Matthew Golden will provide an explosive secondary threat in the passing game. However, outside of those two, Green Bay’s pass-catching options are limited. Malik Heath will likely see significant playing time, but with the way Pittsburgh plays defense, it might finally be time to let Williams run wild.
Williams flashed earlier this season, but has very rarely been utilized in Green Bay’s offense. According to PFF, the third-round rookie has run just 22 routes this season, catching all four of his targets for 23 yards.
Matt LaFleur hasn’t been afraid to utilize Williams in the running game, however. He’s had more carries than catches through six games, rushing six times for 27 yards on some creative concepts.
A lot of Savion’s usage has been as a decoy, but his physical tools could make him an intriguing mismatch against a Steelers defense that runs a heavy amount of Man coverage, while also ranking just 20th in defensive DVOA, per FTN Fantasy.
Doubs and Golden, along with tight end Tucker Kraft, will be heavily featured in the passing game, but this offense needs another option to help beat Man coverage on Sunday night while pushing the field vertically. That is especially the case if Love has enough time in the pocket for long-developing plays if T.J. Watt is ruled out with his hip issue.
At the very least, Williams has the size and athletic ability to present a mismatch in Man coverage. At 6’3” and 222 pounds, Williams posted a strong 40-yard dash time of 4.48 seconds with an elite 10-yard split of 1.53 seconds.
That kind of mismatch can be beneficial against a secondary much more focused on other pass-catching options, and the film has shown Savion being used almost exclusively as a decoy in the passing game.
With that film, along with a cluster of injuries at receiver, don’t be surprised if Williams finally gets an opportunity to have an impact in the passing game on Sunday.
