After a quiet performance in a stinging loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Jayden Reed remains patient, trusting the process as the Green Bay Packers' offense prepares for the New York Jets.
The Green Bay Packers lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. The loss stung less than how it happened.
The Pack took a 22-10 lead into the third quarter, but were outscored, 22-0, in the fourth and ended up losing 39-22.
There were certainly positives, but there were also plenty of negatives. Ultimatly, though, the Packers have no choice but to move on to their Week 2 opponent, the New York Jets.
What are they going to do differently, though? If things don't change, they're bound to stay the same.
Much of the talk this week has been about the offensive line, because it was dreadful against Minnesota. Quarterback Jordan Love was sacked four times, hit 15 times and faced ten unblocked pressures, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.
That line play overshadowed an overall brilliant game from Love. He threw for 387 yards and two touchdowns with a late interception when things fell apart. Two of those touchdowns went to Christian Watson, who looks every bit of the WR1 the Packers paid him to be.
Starting off his second year strong, Matthew Golden caught six passes for 95 yards. Coming off an ACL and with a fresh new contract in hand, Tucker Kraft caught three passes for 65 yards, averaging 21.7 yards per catch.
Those were all positive developments for the Pack. Extremely positive, in fact.
Seemingly absent from the offensive explosion was another Packer who got paid this offseason, though, and that was wide receiver Jayden Reed.
That's not something the fourth-year wideout is worried about heading into Week 2, though.
"It's not frustrating," Reed said, per Mike Spofford of Packers.com. "Every read can't go your way. When the ball finds you, you'll get that opportunity."
He did catch three passes and he was targeted seven times, but he turned those three receptions into just 20 yards. He was clearly lower in the pecking order than Golden (12 targets) and Watson (eight targets).
What that means is that he has to capitalize a bit better on his chances when he's open. He also seems to understand, though, that the Packers have the chance to have a very dynamic offense and there's only one football to go around. Love also has limited time to make decisions, especially with the way the offensive line played against the Vikings.
"J-Love, he's only got two eyes, you know what I'm saying? He can't find everybody that's open on every play. He's going to go with his read and play fast and make the right read. He does a great job of that, and when your opportunity comes, you've just got to capitalize," Reed said.
That's a great attitude from Reed and while he's doing his part, Matt LaFleur and the offense would be smart to try to scheme him up a few more looks — especially crossing over the middle against zone defenses.
When healthy, Reed has a chance to be one of the most explosive slot wide receivers in the NFL.
In his first three NFL seasons, he caught 138 passes for 1,857 yards and 15 touchdowns.
