The Green Bay Packers held their first mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday, and none other than wide receiver Juwann Winfree was one of the notable standouts.
According to reporters at practice, Winfree was first in line during wide receiver drills, catching everything thrown his way. That carried over to the 7-on-7 portion where he had a tremendous 31-yard touchdown catch during the two-minute period with Jaire Alexander in coverage.
Juwann Winfree makes a nice adjustment to catch a leaping 31 yard TD from Love in two minute #Packers
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) June 7, 2022
Winfree is playing with a ton of confidence after taking a step in the right direction last season. Unfortunately, an impressive start to training camp was derailed by a shoulder injury that kept Winfree sidelined for all three preseason games. The injury likely cost him a spot on the initial 53-man roster as he spent time shuffling between the practice squad and active roster.
In 2021, Winfree played in seven games, most notably filling in for a short-handed wide receiving corps against the Arizona Cardinals in week 8. Sans Davante Adams and Allen Lazard, Winfree had four receptions totaling 30 receiving yards. His season ended with eight catches on 13 targets for 58 yards.
Winfree recently told Packers.com that “consistency and availability” are what he is focused on heading into 2022.
“I feel like I was ready last year,” he said. “I was ready to take that next step, and I got hurt in camp.”
Fast forward to today, and Winfree is healthy and making plays once again. It comes at an opportune time with Adams now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders and Lazard still waiting to sign his contract tender. Now that Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target is no longer in the picture, Winfree’s goal is to uphold the standard built by previous Green Bay receivers.
“There’s a reason why this team wins every year,” Winfree said. “If Tae’s not out there, the game is not going to fall off. You don’t ever see the game just fall off because Davante is not out there because it’s the standard and the quality of play that has been set here.”
The Packers just took three wide receivers in the 2022 NFL draft to help offset the loss of Adams, but Winfree is entering his third season with Green Bay. Perhaps, he is a surprise candidate to step up in Adams’ absence.