Green Bay

Packers

Jones saw just five rushes for 18 yards and caught one pass for -4 yards against Detroit. He played 20 snaps to AJ Dillon’s 38. After the game, Jones once again complained about a lack of carries. Watson, coming off a hamstring injury, said he was frustrated to be sidelined during the Packers’ final drive. He ran a route on 47 percent of the Packers’ drop backs against Detroit. The team was clearly easing Jones and Watson back into the offensive fold on Thursday night. Hopefully they both get a full complement of snaps in Week 5 against a soft Raiders defense.

It was another solid if unspectacular night for the second-round rookie, whose best play shouldn’t have even counted. The clock had clearly hit 0:00 on the third quarter before Jordan Love snapped it, but the refs somehow didn’t see it. Reed then hauled in a 44-yard pass in single coverage. Nice, but also a face-saver on an evening where Christian Watson finally made his healthy return. An intriguing dynasty league stash, Reed won’t be carving out 12-team re-draft value behind Watson and Romeo Doubs.

Dillon was held without a catch on one target. Aaron Jones was back from his hamstring injury but clearly nowhere close to ready for his usual role. Pro Football Focus charted Dillon as out-snapping his backfield mate 38-20. Not good news, for fantasy managers, but especially the Packers, who need to hope Jones avoided setbacks and is ready for a much bigger workload in Week 5 against the Raiders. Having his least productive season yet, Dillon is no longer a viable weekly FLEX option in this Aaron Rodgers-less offense.

Jones “added” a -4 yard reception. Active for the first time since Week 1 after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury, Jones was clearly snap-counted, especially in the second quarter where he barely took the field. Elsewhere, the Packers made no attempt to establish the run before falling behind 27-3 at halftime. Obviously, they had to go into pass-happy comeback mode after the break. A fiasco for Jones managers who had been awaiting his return, but as long as he avoided setbacks, he should be in for a much more productive night when the Packers on the Raiders on Monday Night Football 11 days hence.

Making his 2023 debut, Watson is now up to eight touchdowns in 15 career games. Tonight’s score came after a third quarter coverage bust at the one-yard line. The Lions just didn’t bother to cover Watson, and Jordan Love did not miss. The touchdown was an absolute necessity for fantasy managers, as PFF charted Watson as playing only 26 snaps to Romeo Doubs’ 50. With 11 days to rest up for Monday Night Football against the Raiders in Week 5, Watson’s snap count will undoubtedly ascend, but he’s going to be an even riskier proposition than he was last season considering how erratically Love has performed through four contests.

Even with Christian Watson (hamstring) finally making his 2023 debut, Doubs had a career night. Each of his nine catches, 13 targets and 95 yards were new personal bests. He might have had a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Jordan Love didn’t see him cutting off his original route and freelancing to wide-open spaces. Love threw a pick instead. Perhaps the miscue was Doubs’ fault. Either way, Doubs is now up to 25 targets over the past two weeks. The majority of his production this evening came as the Packers tried to erase a 27-3 deficit in the second half. It was a similar story in Week 3 against the Saints, though not quite as drastic. Especially with Watson back in the fold, Doubs is going to be difficult to trust as a WR3, but he’s at least forcing a conversation ahead of Week 5 against the Raiders.

It was yet another uneven evening for Love, whose 63.9 completion percentage was actually his highest of the season. The first-year starter had a dreadful first half as the Packers fell behind 27-3, completing just 6-of-13 throws for 50 yards and one of his giveaways. He was much better in second half comeback mode, but that is true of almost all quarterbacks. Love continued to miss a disconcerting amount of throws high. That was not the case on either pick, one of which was a tipped ball on a bad decision. The second was an end zone miscommunication with Romeo Doubs in the dying moments. The aerial score Love converted came on a blown coverage. The rushing number was a gutty quarterback draw. Love has flashed play-making ability, but “erratic” would best describe his passing. He also holds the ball too long. He has a lot to clean up but will nevertheless be on the streaming radar for Week 5 against the Raiders’ barely-there defense.

Injured in the second quarter, Musgrave was ruled out after the break. He had just one catch for one yard on one target before going down. It’s been a tough night for the Packers’ offense. The only good news for the impressive rookie is that he has 10 days to get cleared for Week 5 against the Raiders.

At long last, Watson will make his 2023 debut. It’s highly unclear how healthy Watson actually is, but he’s a player the Packers have seemed to sit unless he’s 100 percent or something close to it. Although there is obvious re-injury risk and volatility, Watson is a perfectly fine upside option in the low-end WR3 ranks.

Jones is suiting up for the first time since Week 1. Jones practiced last week before sitting out, so he should probably be close to 100 percent, or at least as close as a player with a mid-season hamstring issue can get. He belongs on the RB1/2 borderline as an obvious focal point for a Packers offense that has been getting lucky with its passing attack through three weeks. AJ Dillon is a barely-there RB3. Inactive for the Packers are CB Jaire Alexander, WR Malik Heath, S Anthony Johnson, S Zayne Anderson, LB Brenton Cox, LB LB De’Vondre Campbell and G/T Elgton Jenkins.