Dontayvion Wicks Is Ahead Of the Rookie Learning Curve

Between Wicks’ breakout 2021 season, his performance in the Senior Bowl, and I’m guessing some stellar marks he received as someone who can go through and overcome adversity, the Packers selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. And, thus far in his NFL career, he has outperformed his draft stock and shown he may be well beyond the rookie learning curve.

To date, Wicks has seen his opportunities grow week-to-week in the NFL going from two targets in Week 1 to four targets in Week 2 to six targets in Week 3. Part of the reason for the increased opportunity is what Wicks has put on tape against NFL competition.

Wicks is more often getting open and creating consistent separation. Last week against the Atlanta Falcons, he had a number of plays where he created separation through his releases off of defensive backs. In the below play, he runs a corner route but violently stutters steps faking a post, causing the defensive back to hesitate, and, poof, Wicks is wide open, but Love has already passed the ball to another receiver.

While Wicks didn’t get the ball on this play, the more he shows this type of separation the more opportunities that will come his way, and that’s what happened against the New Orleans Saints. One of Wicks’ best plays against the Saints came when he did a jab step at the line of scrimmage against fellow rookie Alontae Taylor and immediately created five yards of separation, giving Jordan Love an easy completion on a play-action fake.

The coolest aspect of this play is it shows his deceptively convincing body movements that Wicks showed at the Reeses Senior Bowl and at Vigina.

Matt LaFleur has also started to take notice, highlighting what he likes about Wicks. “I think he competes,” the head coach said. “His body movement. He’s very good at press releases. He can make contested catches. He can run through balls. He’s strong. He loves the game. He has picked it up quickly.”

While Wicks had a sub-par 40-yard dash at 4.62 seconds, that really doesn’t matter for his game. Wicks just consistently gets separation through releases, route running, and being physical at contested catches and shooting for yards after the catch. And, ultimately, it doesn’t matter how you win, it just matters that you win. For Wicks, he’s showing that his game has easily translated to the NFL and he may already be beyond the rookie learning curve and ready for a larger role on offense.