Dontayvion Wicks trade grades for Eagles, Packers

On Friday, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers made a trade that, at least on the surface, seemed rather straightforward.

After watching Jahan Dotson sign with the Atlanta Falcons, Howie Roseman did what Howie Roseman does, trading a pair of Day 3 picks, a fifth rounder in 2026 and a sixth rounder in 2027, to the Green Bay Packers for third-year wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who, much like the Eagles last WR3, saw his prodction dip as the talent around him expanded on the team that drafted him.

Now, for Roseman, this move isn’t exactly revolutionary or a certified Super Bowl guarantee. In 2025, the Eagles gave up basically the same package for Tank Bigsby in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a deal that only produced 563 all-purpose yards between offense and special teams, and have pulled off similar late-round pick trades involving players like Fred Johnson, Sydney Brown, and beyond for years now.

But what makes this trade interesting isn’t the picks surrendered or the immediate impact on the 2026 NFL Draft, but instead what it does for each team in the future, both this fall and beyond. Regardless of whether Wicks becomes a 200, 600, or 1,000-yard wide receiver for the Birds, the reason both teams felt comfortable making the deal and how it could impact their team-building strategy moving forward says a lot about where both front offices see themselves heading into Pittsburgh at the end of the month.

The Packers didn’t see Dontayvion Wicks contributing much in 2026

In the modern NFL, when a player leaves in free agency, their team is awarded a compensatory pick to help replace them on the roster. This selection is based on how big of a contract the player in question lands on the open market, with top-of-the-line deals earning teams a pick at the end of the third round, and smaller deals becoming fourth, fifth, sixth, or even seventh rounders, depending on the money attached.

Granted, comp picks are negated by external free agents signed, turning free agency into a math problem for some teams, but considering the Packers have long been a team that builds through the draft over free agency, the decision to trade Wicks in 2026 instead of allowing him to produce a compensatory selection in 2028 might just be because he didn’t factor in to be a major contributor this fall.

As things presently stand, the Packers have three wide receivers under a non-exclusive rights free agent contract in 2027: Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, and Savion Williams. Granted, there’s a very good chance they extend Jayden Reed after becoming arguably the team’s best wide receiver over his rookie contract and have the potential to add even more talent in this month’s draft, but at best, Wicks would have been just another pass-catcher on an expiring contract looking to have a showout before hitting free agency.

In 2025, Wicks ranked fourth on the team in total snaps at 408, sandwiching neatly in between Watson at 480 and Malik Heath at 212, but as the season progressed, his average targets per game dipped down the stretch, going from 4.1 from September through November to just 2.2 from December on. Wicks’ only game where he got near 100 yards came on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions with Jayden Reed on the bench, and otherwise, he averaged just over 18 yards per game over 14 regular season appearances.

Could Wicks have come to camp hungry in 2026, ready to clear the field and become a full-time starter? Sure, but it’s just as likely the Packers would enter camp with a new star player like Denzel Boston under contract for the next four years, and Wicks would become a deep reserve fighting to even get four targets per game, let alone break out in a more expansive role. In that regard, the Packers were wise to get assets now and in 2027 instead of waiting for 2028 before entering the draft with a clear receiver hierarchy in place.

Packers grade: A-

The Eagles get AJ Brown incentives and future upside

When the Wicks trade was initially announced, the first thought in many an Eagles fans’ mind was that this marked the end of the AJ Brown era.

Widely considered a top-5 wide receiver in the NFL, to call Brown’s run in the City of Brotherly Love tumultuous would be an understatement. He’s complained to reporters about his usage, passively-aggressively read books on the sidelines, sent more vague tweets than any wide receiver in NFL history, and, most crucially of all, played downright horribly in the team’s playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, dropping three passes that each could have been the deciding factor between a win and a loss.

While the prospects of trading Brown before June 1 are harrowing, because Wicks landed a $12.5 million extension, he seemingly figures into the Eagles’ plans in 2027 in a major way.

Had this trade simply been for a player on an expiring contract, it would have earned a solid B grade. Wicks played for Sean Mannion in Green Bay and, as a result, could serve as a bridge for his new teammates and his old system, regardless of how much he produced on the field. But because Wicks is now locked in at a very respectable WR2 number, he gives the Eagles optionality to add any receiver they’d like in the draft, trade Brown before or after the season, or simply keep their top-3 receivers the cap be darned in order to take two very respectable shots at the Super Bowl before the first snap of flag football at the 2028 LA Olympics. That optionality is worth far more than two mid-Day 3 picks, regardless of how it shakes out.

Eagles grade: A

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