Packers rookie picked in 5th round bears striking resemblance to all-time great receiver
GREEN BAY — Matt LaFleur didn’t want Troy Aikman and Joe Buck to misconstrue what he was saying. But the Green Bay Packers coach probably should have known better.
After all, when you include one of your young, ascending wide receivers’ names in a sentence that also includes that of one of the greatest pass-catchers in Green Bay Packers history — Davante Adams — then you must know people’s ears are going to perk up.
3 things to watch when the Packers visit the Panthers on Christmas Eve
A day before the Packers’ Dec. 11 “Monday Night Football” matchup with the New York Giants, LaFleur had sat down with ESPN’s marquee announcing tandem in a production meeting, as all NFL coaches do
Toward the end of their time together, the conversation turned to 22-year-old rookie fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks, who enters Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium having caught 31 passes for 491 yards and a touchdown this season — including 14 receptions for a team-high 251 yards over the last five games, despite missing one of those games with a concussion and leaving another early with an ankle injury..
And so, when Wicks made a leaping, contorting grab of an off-the-mark Jordan Love pass for a 19-yard gain during the second quarter to convert a third-and-5 against the Giants — one of 16 explosive catches of 16 yards or more that Wicks has this season — Aikman praised Wicks’ body control while Buck offered this tidbit on air:
“Wicks, when you talk to Matt LaFleur, LaFleur just raves about Dontayvion. He said, ‘Don’t end the meeting on this, but he’s got great feet. I’m not saying he’s Davante Adams, but he’s got Davante Adams-esque feet at the line of scrimmage.’ He is a really good young player.’”
Told this week of what Aikman and Buck had said, LaFleur arched an eyebrow and muttered, “That’s good to know.”
LaFleur, who had Adams for three seasons before a March 2022 trade sent him to the Las Vegas Raiders, then proceeded to explain exactly how Wicks reminds him of Adams — because the comparison is unavoidable.
