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          Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks works to stop the drops

          • Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterOct 4, 2024, 10:00 AM
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              Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
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          GREEN BAY, Wis. -- He slammed his left fist into the 18-yard line of the Lambeau Field turf in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Although he took it out on his hand, Green Bay Packers receiver Dontayvion Wicks knew it was something else that failed him as he dropped yet another pass.

          "Most of my mistakes," Wicks said, "were taking my eyes off the ball."

          It wasn't the first time this season that Wicks had dropped a pass and then reacted by pounding the ground after the ball slipped by. Still, he might want to be a little kinder to his moneymakers.

          "I don't think he's too hard on himself," Packers receiver Jayden Reed said. "He just cares, and he knows his capability. Everything doesn't go how he wants it to all the time. I've been exactly where he's been. It's just about, you know, he cares. That's what you want. You want a person that knows their capability."

          Through the first month of the NFL season, no receiver has dropped more passes than Wicks, according to ESPN Research. He has four of them, including three in the 31-29 loss to the Vikings. A tougher grader might have given him more considering three times in the season opener against the Eagles, the ball hit his hands, yet only one was scored as a drop. On the other hand, at least one of his drops against the Vikings could have been put on quarterback Jordan Love for delivering an off-target ball.

          Yet heading into the 2-2 Packers' Week 5 game at the 1-3 Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), only two NFL players have more touchdown catches than Wicks' three, including a pair against Minnesota.

          While Love didn't intentionally try to feed Wicks the ball after his drops on Sunday, both of Wicks' touchdown catches came after his third drop of the game. In all, Wicks was targeted 13 times -- the most for any Packers receiver this season -- and he caught five for 78 yards.

          "I definitely think it just has to happen organically," Love said. "That's not really something that's on my mind; if a guy drops a pass, like, trying to get back to him immediately. I think he's just gotta stay true to your progressions, take what the defense gives you. But yeah it's one of those things, you don't lose confidence in a guy if they have a drop. You're gonna keep coming back to him."

          Wicks has matched Reed for the most targets on the team this season with 22, while Romeo Doubs is close behind at 20, However, Wicks' catch percentage is much lower. He has eight receptions for 104 yards, while Reed has 17 for 336. To be sure, Reed's routes as a slot receiver are often higher-percentage throws, but with Christian Watson expected to miss a game or two because of the left ankle injury he sustained against the Vikings, the Packers need Wicks' catch rate to improve.

          And he knows it.

          "Gotta be hard on yourself," Wicks said. "If not, you get passed up. I critique myself as hard as anybody. So when people do critique me, I already know. I already got the feeling."

          Wicks, a fifth-round pick from Virginia in 2023, emerged late last season as a big-play receiver. He led the Packers with 18 explosive catches (defined as 16 yards or more) and finished second in the league in yards per catch (14.9) among rookies.

          Since he entered the league, Wicks ranks 19th in target separation, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, meaning he is one of the best at getting open. He has been an average of 3.28 yards from the nearest defender when the ball arrives. Only Reed ranks higher among Packers receivers (ninth at 3.67).

          "Best route runner I've seen, personally," Reed said of Wicks. "I've told him that. I ask him about how he does this or how he does that or what can I do to be more efficient at this. That's why we stick together like we do and we know what to expect of each other."

          It's also why Love will keep throwing to Wicks.

          "I think he has that mindset that he wants the ball, and if he makes a mistake early on, I think he's going to be hard on himself about it and find a way to fix it and keep going," Love said. "But I think that's everybody on this team. Nobody's going to give up or have the game kind of be defeated after having one bad play. I think we all got to be able to bounce back and respond."