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Day 2 of the 2022 NFL draft has come to a close, and while many wide receivers were taken in the second and third rounds, several teams should still look to upgrade at the position by acquiring a proven veteran in free agency, such as Odell Beckham Jr. or Julio Jones.
That said, the Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears could express interest in Beckham or Jones moving forward.
The Packers failed to address their need for a wide receiver in the first round, instead opting to draft Georgia linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. And although they selected North Dakota State wide receiver Christian Watson in the second round, he won’t be enough immediately to make up for the loss of Davante Adams.
Watson caught 43 passes for 800 yards and seven touchdowns for North Dakota State last season. For comparison, some of the best receivers in this year’s draft had more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2021.
Aside from Watson, the Packers also have Sammy Watkins, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers and Juwann Winfree as their top receivers. Green Bay is lacking that superstar receiver after trading Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, and either Jones or Beckham could make up for that loss.
Baltimore is also in need of a wide receiver after trading Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals during the first round of the draft on Thursday. Brown was Lamar Jackson’s top target in 2021, and now the veteran quarterback is left with Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche II and Tylan Wallace as his top receivers. Those four combined for just 1,012 yards and three touchdowns last season.
The Ravens did not select a receiver on Day 2, so they might be in need of one more than the Packers.
That said, the Browns could also use an elite receiver for quarterback Deshaun Watson, whom they acquired from the Houston Texans this offseason. Jarvis Landry is gone, and Beckham likely won’t be headed to Cleveland, so it’s possible the franchise could target Jones.
The Browns currently have Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashard Higgins, Anthony Schwartz and Jakeem Grant as their top receivers, but could use some depth at the position following the departures of Landry and Beckham over the last year.
Cleveland did select David Bell out of Purdue with the 99th overall pick in the draft, but he likely won’t step into the lineup immediately.
The Bears selected Velus Jones. Jr out of Tennessee with the 71st overall pick in the draft, and he’s currently projected to be one of the team’s top receivers, but adding either Beckham or Jones would make Chicago a much better team.
Byron Pringle, Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown, David Moore, Dazz Newsome, Isaiah Coulter and Nsimba Webster are currently the other receivers Chicago has on its roster.
Beckham proved his worth in 2021 after being traded from the Browns to the Los Angeles Rams. In eight regular-season games with the Rams, the 29-year-old caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns. He added 21 catches for 288 yards in the playoffs.
Jones, meanwhile, struggled in his first season with the Tennessee Titans, catching 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown in 10 games. However, he’s just two seasons removed from a 1,000-plus yard receiving season and can still be an effective receiver.
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