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During the game against the Lions on Sunday, Jordan Love targeted Dontayvion Wicks of the Packers three times apiece. The outcomes continue to be awful from a historical perspective.

Amon-Ra St. Brown has been the recipient of thirty passes from quarterback Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions since the third week of the season. As a consequence, thirty of them were finished.

Goff and St. Brown have developed a tandem that is quite literally unstoppable, in contrast to Jordan Love and Wicks, who comprise the worst quarterback-receiver duo in the National Football League at the halfway point of the season.

In the Lions’ triumph over the Packers at Lambeau Field, which was 24-10, St. Brown caught all seven of the targets that were thrown to him, including the touchdown that they scored first.

Immediately following the game, Goff remarked, “That is pretty crazy.” His friendliness makes him the most pleasant target I’ve ever hurled at.

In the same way that Goff and St. Brown are pals, Love and Wicks are complete adversaries.

The statistics provided by Stathead indicate that during the course of the past ten years, exactly 1,050 receivers have been targeted at least forty times during a single season. Wicks’ catch rate of 37.2 percent places him in the 1,045th position.

Now that the Packers have reached the bye week, they are faced with a necessary decision. Does the team continue to use Wicks as if he were St. Brown, or do they offer Bo Melton or Malik Heath more playing time and opportunities than they do to Wicks?

The talented kid who is in his second year is not something that Coach Matt LaFleur is willing to give up on.

“We observe him doing it in the practice setting. On Monday, LaFleur made the following statement: “I believe that is where it all begins.” It goes without saying that you ought to want those findings to be related to the game. In addition, I am a firm believer in the assertion that “Practice preparation equals game reality.” I believe, however, that it is simply a matter of returning to the fundamentals.

Against the Lions, Wicks was targeted three times. There were no catches made by him, and he dropped two passes, one of which was a catchable pass that was thrown in the end zone during the fourth quarter but went off target.

Listen up, I understand what you’re saying. There is no justification for the fact that it was a rainy day, as LaFleur pointed out. “I do think that when you look at some of the drops, our fundamentals weren’t necessarily right (with) the way we coach it and the way we drill it in terms of being aggressive with your hands, and we were letting that ball get into our body too much.

“That happened on that one kind of slant play on the third-and-3 [in the fourth quarter], and then there was another one, obviously, in the end zone. The ball was certainly behind him; I just think that’s a play that he’s got to be able to make and that he is certainly capable of making. And I’ve seen him make it.”

The weather might explain the problems on Sunday, but what about the rest of the season?

Among the 72 receivers who have been targeted 30 times this season, Wicks has the lowest catch percentage and the highest drop percentage.

“Well, we’ve got something to work on, I guess,” LaFleur replied.

According to PFF, Wicks has dropped six passes this season; only teammate Jayden Reed and veteran star Amari Cooper (seven apiece) have more.

The Lions have one drop as a team this season. Over the last 40 games since Week 1 of the 2022 season, St. Brown has six drops but 265 receptions.

As a rookie last year, Wicks’ route-running ability drew comparisons to that of Davante Adams. In 2015, Adams’ second season in the NFL, he caught 53.2 percent of his passes and averaged 9.7 yards per reception and 5.1 yards per target.

Adams battled through an ankle injury that season. He bounced back in 2016 and started a string of six consecutive Pro Bowl seasons in 2017.Wicks played through a shoulder injury earlier in the season but is no longer on the injury report. Of those aforementioned 1,050 receivers, Wicks is tied for 1,045th with 4.5 yards per target.

All the other Packers receivers have caught 91-of-131 passes, or 69.4 percent.

The season hasn’t been a total lost cause, though. Against Houston two weeks ago, Wicks caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and added a critical third-and-2 conversion on the game-winning drive. He’s got four touchdown catches this season.

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