After Green Bay’s signing of veteran wide receiver Mecole Hardman, the prevailing sentiment is that the move will not impact what the Packers will do in the draft in any way.

In a sense, that’s true. The presence of Hardman will not preclude general manager Brian Gutekunst from selecting a receiver. But what it does mean is that the Packers do not have to add a receiver at all.

The Packers do not have a hole at receiver, contrary to what many people believe, at least not in terms of numbers.

They have Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton, Malik Heath, and now Hardman. That is six receivers with multiple years of NFL experience, and that is before Christian Watson returns to the mix at some point.

There is of course an argument the Packers have a need at wide receiver in terms of an elite-level starter, which is something none of their group have established themselves as.

But the fact of the matter is, they are no more likely to find that in the draft, especially this year’s class, than they are by one of their current players developing.

Wide receiver fever has well and truly set in, and is being exacerbated by mock draft after mock draft, including by those who cover the team closely, having Green Bay taking a receiver in the first round.

If the best player available when the Packers pick at 23 is a receiver, the team would not hesitate to do it, although there are plenty of reasons to believe the top end of this class does not have what they need, given the makeup of the players already on the roster. That is a huge factor which should not be ignored.

But the reason most often being given for the selection in mock drafts is that: “Christian Watson is injured”. That is where the logic train careens off the rails.

Ask yourself, are the Green Bay Packers going to draft a wide receiver in the first round, which they have not done for over 20 years, just because one of their receivers will miss the first half of the regular season?

If there was any danger of that, the Hardman signing should put it to bed.

To put it another way; if Watson was not injured, would taking a receiver in round one even be a discussion? Probably, because a large group of Packers fans are obsessed with the idea, but it would not be seen as a necessity by any stretch.

The Packers are not going to burn their most premium draft pick on filling a short-term need. It does not mean they absolutely will not take one, but they will not take one just because of an injury.

Hardman’s signing could give Matt LaFleur and his coaching staff more flexibility to move Reed around, rather than keeping him in the slot, and that interchangeable element could add some dynamism which was missing when Watson missed time last year.

Green Bay could very feasibly go into the season with the receivers they have right now, knowing Watson will return at some point, before the playoffs, which they will be in and is all that ultimately matters.

As an overall draft strategy, it is pretty likely the Packers do take a receiver at some stage, as they have two key players in contract years and another two with only two years left of their rookie deals.

They need to keep the conveyor belt moving and add competition to freshen up the room, but do not be surprised if the receiver pick does not come until day three.