Packers to host WR Dontayvion Wicks for top-30 NFL Draft visit

At perhaps no other position do the Green Bay Packers have a clearer set of preferred testing criteria than wide receiver. Green Bay clearly loves big wideouts who can move, particularly those who have good explosiveness and short-area quickness.

Last season, the Packers drafted two receivers who fit their historical criteria, with both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs fitting the bill. Seventh-round pick Samori Touré was a little bit on the lighter side (191 lbs) from where the team tends to go at that position, but otherwise hit the rest of the team’s numbers.

Now as the 2023 NFL Draft approaches, the Packers are bringing in yet another player who checks their boxes for a top-30 formal visit. That player is Dontayvion Wicks, a potential mid-round prospect out of the University of Virginia. Wicks revealed that the visit is scheduled during his media interviews at the Cavaliers’ Pro Day on March 22nd.

Although Wicks did not run an impressive 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine a few weeks prior (going just 4.62), he improved upon that time with a 4.57-second 40 at Pro Day. He also ran agility drills for the first time in Charlottesville, with above-average numbers in both the shuttle and 3-cone drills.

All told, the 6-foot-1, 206-pound receiver’s Pro Day numbers put his RAS in elite territory at 9.49:

As Morley notes in the tweet above, those numbers are right in line with the Packers’ preferences, which include a sub-4.6 40, a sub-7 3-cone, and size above 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. Those elite explosiveness numbers (including a great 10-yard split in the 40) only add to his potential fit with the Packers.

The questions around Wicks’ pro prospects result largely from inconsistent production in college. After opting out of his sophomore season in 2020 due to COVID-19, Wicks exploded for 1,203 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2021, averaging over 21 yards per reception. That yardage mark was a single-season career high However, he posted just 30 catches for 430 yards and two scores over eight games in 2022 before missing the final few games of the season with an injury.

Additionally, Wicks’ hands are a question, with drops becoming a major factor in 2022. According to Pro Football Focus, he dropped nine passes last season, perhaps due in part to a change in offensive scheme that had him running more timing routes. Still, that could well be a topic of discussion when the Packers meet with Wicks in the coming weeks.

Wicks becomes the first confirmed wide receiver who will have a top-30 visit with the Packers. Expect that he probably will not be the last.