Jayden Reed Camp Update — August 23: A Third-Down Catch, Then a Night Off

Jayden Reed's week was one good practice rep and one empty game column. In Wednesday's third-down period — starters against starters — Jordan Love hit him on a catch-and-run for a gain, per Bill Huber at Packers On SI, part of a period Love's offense mostly won. Then on Friday night in Denver, Reed was on Rob Reischel's list of players who sat, alongside Josh Jacobs, Tucker Kraft and most of the offensive front, per Reischel at Forbes. No injury was attached to the absence in any reporting we reviewed, and a week after he returned from the ankle and played in Pittsburgh, a veteran sitting the second exhibition reads as ordinary August handling — but we note the fact and stop there.

The room around him kept moving. Matthew Golden played with the first group in Denver and converted a fourth-and-one with a 20-yard catch, per Reischel, after taking practice-player-of-the-day honors Tuesday; Christian Watson played and caught a 15-yard slant on the opening drive, per Wes Hodkiewicz and Mike Spofford at the team's website. The target competition the June preview flagged is no longer theoretical — all three receivers are now healthy enough to be making plays in the same week.

Our June preview left two questions open on Reed after the collarbone year — health, which has now answered twice over, and target competition, which is live and unscored, because one August week cannot rank three receivers. Watch next whether Reed plays in the preseason finale, and whether the third-down and red-zone looks from Love — where his seasons have always been made — keep showing up in the practice reports before the roster cuts to 53 on Sunday, August 30. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._