Ascending Wicks Earns Comparison to ‘That Other Tae’

In the 2023 NFL Draft, four receivers were selected in the first round and 14 were picked in the first three rounds.

Dontayvion Wicks lasted into the fifth round and was the 19th receiver off the board. Entering Sunday’s game at the Carolina Panthers, Wicks among the rookie class ranks 11th with 31 receptions and ninth with 490 yards. He has as many catches as first-round pick Quentin Johnston, and at least 12 more receptions than top-100 choices Jalin Hyatt, Marvin Mims, Cedric Tillman and Tre Tucker.

Put simply, Wicks does the most important things well: He gets open, he catches the ball and he makes something happen after the catch. All of which are reasons why Jordan Love has been getting him the ball with increasing frequency.

“A lot,” Love said on Wednesday when asked what he likes about Wicks. “I think just his personality, how he approaches coming into work every week, finding ways to get better. He’s always asking questions, always asking if he’s in the right spot, and then I think he’s a guy who’s in his coach’s ear all the time, trying to find ways to get better.

“Obviously, you see what he does on the field. I think he’s a really good route-runner, really shifty guy, catches the ball really well and he’s making plays after the catch, he’s getting a lot of YAC right now. He’s just a tough guy. So, he’s doing a lot of really good things.”

Taking them in order:

Route-running: According to Next Gen Stats, Wicks is averaging 3.1 yards of separation, which is second among the team’s receivers and puts him in the top third of the league. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s had only four contested-catch opportunities, meaning he’s typically been open when targeted.

Shifty playmaker: Wicks is among 24 rookie receivers with at least 10 receptions. In that group, according to PFF, he ranks sixth with 6.1 yards after the catch per catch. He’s forced nine missed tackles, third-most among rookie receivers and more than the rest of the Packers’ receiver corps combined.

“Just being a player, for real,” he said. “I do a lot of lifting.”

Against the Buccaneers, he caught six passes for 97 yards. Both were career highs; the yardage total was the best by a Packers player this season. Almost half of those yards came after the catch, with Wicks taking the secondary for a ride following a pair of catches.

“They’re surprised” about his strength, Wicks said. “There’s a lot of bigger DBs in the league. It’s just tough on tough. Whoever’s the most physical and wants it more, that’s who’s going to get it. That’s something I go by. You’ve got to show me you’re tougher than me while we’re out there. Talking ain’t going to get it. It’s all in action.”

Catches the ball: In Wicks’ last six games, he’s caught 20-of-29 passes with one drop.

“He’s had some drops this year, don’t get me wrong, but he catches the ball very aggressive and has strong hands and he plucks it away from his body,” receivers coach Jason Vrable said.

Tough guy: Six days after suffering a high-ankle sprain against New York, he had his big day against the Buccaneers.

“It’s going to hurt but I look at it as it’s either hurting or it’s hurt and I wasn’t hurt,” he said.

Of the 20 rookie receivers who’ve been targeted at least 20 times, Wicks ranks fourth with a 15.8-yard average and 2.00 yards per route.

During the Packers-Giants broadcast on Monday Night Football, broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman relayed a conversation they had with coach Matt LaFleur in which LaFleur compared some of Wicks’ movement skills with those of the incomparable Davante Adams.

A couple weeks earlier, Vrable mentioned Adams, as well.

“He’s a basketball player first, so there’s some guys who just have that ability to cross a guy over in the lane,” Vrable said. “There’s a couple reps that he had throughout training camp and even in the spring where everybody was like, ‘Whoa. That’s like the old 17 stuff. That other Tae,’ the way he can cross a guy over and create separation. I think there’s certain guys that have it.”

Nobody is comparing the All-Pro, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, to a rookie with one career touchdown, but Wicks’ ability to get open and contort his body to make catches caught Love’s eye when he worked out with Wicks and others in California during the offseason and has continued to impress the quarterback.

“You could see it, just in the movements that both those guys make, catching the ball when they’re out there on the field, the adjustments – just little subtle adjustments they make to put themselves in the best position,” Love said. “I’ve definitely seen a lot of things that I saw from Davante.

“Obviously, not trying to put them in the same bracket. Davante’s a hell of a player but I think, if he keeps working, the sky’s the limit for him.”