Facing a suddenly crowded Packers WR room, Jayden Reed says report created ‘different perception' about his attitude

Yahoo

4 days ago

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Jayden Reed wanted to clear the air.
The Green Bay Packers' 2023 second-round receiver knew ESPN had reported this month that his agent met with his general manager.
He knew also that the report came mere weeks after the Packers selected two receivers in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.
But Reed said Wednesday after the Packers' OTA practice that his agent's intention in reaching out to Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst was misconstrued.
'I hired a new agent and we talked about it before even the draft,' Reed said of his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. 'He said he was going to talk to the front office and everybody here to just catch up and make sure everybody's on the same page, as a new client.
'I don't know how it got out, because it was supposed to be confidential. That's how it goes sometimes — people get a different perception.'
Packers WR Jayden Reed clarifies why his agent Drew Rosenhaus met with GM Brian Gutekunst after team drafted 2 WRs: pic.twitter.com/TT3mDJhJxo
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) May 28, 2025
ESPN reported May 12 that Rosenhaus and Gutekunst met to 'clarify the wide receiver's status' after Green Bay drafted receivers Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third.
Head coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday he 'didn't even know about' the conversation beyond seeing the report and, 'I haven't had a conversation about it.'
Golden and Williams join a crowded room that includes Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks in addition to Christian Watson, who is expected to miss the beginning of the season while recovering from a Week 18 ACL tear.
Reed led Packers receivers last year with 857 yards and six touchdowns as Green Bay shifted to a heavier run emphasis. The Packers rushed 526 times in 2024 while passing 479 times, a year after Jordan Love's debut campaign as a starting QB featured 441 carries amid and 581 passes.
The run emphasis highlighted free-agent acquisition Josh Jacobs, who rushed 301 times for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Packers improved from the 12th scoring offense and 11th overall offense in 2023 to the eighth and fifth, respectively, in 2024. Their 1-5 division record motivates leaders across the building, but the overall production improved.
The run emphasis worked. It also could complicate ball distribution. Love expressed confidence his receivers will handle any complications.
'I always tell guys, 'I'm going to throw it to the guy who's open,'' Love said Wednesday. 'I'm going to try to find the guy who's open. So they all know that.
'Nobody's being sensitive about a number of targets right now.'
During a full-squad OTA practice open to media on Wednesday, the receiver room wasn't. Love distributed the ball to his receivers, tight ends and running backs alike in individual and team drills. Receivers expressed camaraderie, from March free-agent pickup Mecole Hardman's individualized handshakes with a slew of new teammates, to Reed guiding Golden on his new playbook and technique standards.
'Definitely just giving me pointers and just being out there, being vocal,' Golden told Yahoo Sports of Reed's help. 'Something like just my alignment or something specific on the play that I need to do. He'll remind me and just tell me just so that I know and it has been helping me.
'I definitely appreciate guys like that that'll help [with] open arms, just give you advice on how to be better.'
Golden marks the Packers' first selection of a receiver in the first round in 23 seasons. The rookie played two seasons at Houston before a breakout year at Texas to the tune of 987 yards and nine touchdowns on 58 catches.
The Packers' receivers were inconsistent last season, from 33 drops, per Pro Football Reference, to injuries eliminating multiple receivers from a playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Reed and Wicks each dropped nine passes, per Pro Football Reference, on 75 and 72 targets respectively. Reed spoke to coaches in his end-of-season meetings about ways to improve.
'Drops was a problem for me last year,' Reed said. 'I've been on a JUGS machine every day this offseason, so obviously that'll help. Just being a better leader, just working on the top of my routes, stuff like that.'
Taking advantage of opportunities will be even more crucial if the volume of them decrease amid a talented receiving corps. Reed's goal: Embrace the competition for starting receiver snaps — while also reiterating he cares more about winning than producing.
'As long as at the end of the day we end out on top and we win, that's all that matters,' Reed said. 'I'm a very unselfish person, just how I look at things. I'm a very unselfish person. Whenever anybody fall, I try to be the first person around, pick 'em up. I try to pick players up when they got the head down.
'I'm not the type to care about targets.'
He's also not looking to draw out the conversation surrounding his 'status' in the receiver room, he said.
'We have those conversations — we clarify what we need to clarify in-house,' Reed said. 'All that 'wide receiver 1' stuff, I don't look at it as that, man. It's like: We got a lot of different playmakers in the room that can make plays.
'At the end of the day it's about a team coming together and getting the job done and winning.'