Brace yourselves, Cheeseheads. Another article about the Packers wide receiver room incoming.
At this point, there’s probably not much I can write about that hasn’t already been written.
You know of the three veterans who will be relied on (Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard and Sammy Watkins). You know of the draft picks who are expected to make a splash (Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs). Much has even been made about Amari Rodgers and what his role might look like next season.
But Juwann Winfree has really flown under the radar up until this point.
If you remember, Winfree turned heads during the start of last year’s training camp before injuring his shoulder. He then made a few appearances during the regular season, catching 8 balls for 58 yards.
A 2019 pick of the Denver Broncos in Round 6, Winfree possesses the raw talent and potential to make plays. He’s shifty and athletic, but struggled with consistency in his play and availability.
But Winfree has a lot of confidence in himself. According to him, his coaches do too.
“They believe in me, they know I can ball,” Winfree said at OTAs earlier this summer. “They see what attributes I bring to the table. For me it’s just making that next step of showing I can play every position and I can be counted on every single time.”
His confidence was, once again, on display during the first day of open practice at Packers mandatory minicamp.
If you were anything like me during Tuesday’s Packers minicamp open practice, you tuned into Twitter for the live practice updates. It seemed like every time I refreshed my feed, Winfree’s name popped up.
Making big plays, turning heads as a gunner on punt coverage and being first in line during drills and reps – that’s exciting stuff to see from a young player.
Now, look, I get it. It’s June. None of this really matters too much in the grand scheme of things.
But between his raw athletic ability, the confidence he oozes and the organization’s need for talented receivers that can play, Winfree could very much be a player who contributes heavily to this Packers offense.
And the more options the Packers have at that position, the better.
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