Malachi Fields Could Bring Something Different To Green Bay’s WR Room

The Green Bay Packers went so long without using a first-round pick on a receiver that when they finally did it last year, it felt like an astrological event on par with Haley’s Comet passing overhead. But they did it, damnit, finally, bringing in Matthew Golden on Day 1 in 2025. But what was once a crowded receiver room already needs depth after losing Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks in the offseason. Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Golden all figure to form an impressive receiving corps. Still, all three have dealt with nagging injuries that have limited their production and time on the field. They need to bring in some fresh talent, and Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields may be the perfect fit.

At 6’4”, 218 lbs., Fields is a bit of a throwback receiver. In an era obsessed with the route runner and receivers who can win through a combination of speed and footwork, Fields is one of the few receivers who wins with pure physicality, using his size to go up and make grabs other smaller wideouts can’t. When you pair his impressive size with his 79” wingspan and 38” vertical, you have a receiver who is a threat to come down with almost every 50/50 ball he sees.

Fields started the first four seasons of his college career at the University of Virginia, where he finally got the chance to start in his third season, wrapping up 2023 with 58 grabs for 811 yards and five touchdowns. He posted almost identical stats in his senior year before he transferred to Notre Dame.

With the Fighting Irish, Fields saw a reduced role in an offense that featured Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love, two potential top-100 picks at running back. Still, he proved to be just as prolific when given the chance, recording 630 yards on 36 grabs for a whopping 17.5 yards per grab.

Malachi Fields almost plays like a power forward. With his insane wingspan and vertical jump, combined with incredible body control, he can attack the football, boxing out smaller defensive backs with his superior frame and coming down with the ball.

While his hands are a little smaller, that’s no cause for concern. He has tremendous grip strength, plucking the ball out of thin air, keeping his hands in front of him, and attacking it early rather than having it come to him and hit his body. He can use his strong hands, combined with his impressive frame, to withstand violent collisions from incoming defensive backs looking to break up the pass.

Fields has an impressive ability to track the ball in the air, something that, in tandem with his physical ability, makes him among the better deep-ball receivers. However, he can also find the soft spot in the zone, making him an impressive intermediate and short-route target.

When Fields gets the ball in his hands, he’s hard to bring down, breaking arm tackles with violence and spinning out of trouble. Despite his slower speed and bigger stature, Fields has impressive abilities to break out of tackles and get yards after the catch.

Fields also has a great motor, bringing the same intensity to every play. He even does so in the run game, where he’s a capable blocker who uses his size and reach to push defenders away and seal the outside for ball carriers, something that teams will love.

Still, there are a fair number of issues with his game, primarily with his speed. Fields only ran a 4.61 40-yard dash, making him one of the slower receivers in the NFL. He also isn’t a particularly good route runner because he rounds off on his breaks too often.

That, combined with his less-than-ideal speed, is what raises some questions for teams. In an era so focused on quick, twitchy, expert route runners who can generate separation at will, can an old-school back-shoulder X receiver work?

Fields’ slow speed also hurts him when trying to break press coverage. He lacks quickness to burn defensive backs over the top, so he has to default to using his hands and pushing them away with sheer force.

While Fields doesn't have the upside that Watson, Reed, and Golden all have, he provides something different to these three stylistically. He can serve as an incredible red-zone option for the Packers, naturally fitting into the offense that has a quarterback in Jordan Love who loves to take chances and throw 50/50 balls to his receivers on the outside.

In an offense with tons of weapons like Josh Jacobs, Tucker Kraft, Golden, Watson, and Reed, Malachi Fields can look to carve a role for himself in an offense where not much is expected from him.