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NFL draft preview: Can a rookie receiver fill Packers’ Jordy Nelson void? The odds are against it

GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers’ decision to sever ties with popular wide receiver Jordy Nelson last month didn’t just tick off their quarterback or sadden a legion of fans who so loved the veteran pass-catcher that they named their dogs after him.

It also created — or, based on their interest in pricey free-agent wideouts Alan Robinson and Sammy Watkins, exacerbated — a need at the position.

While Davante Adams officially declared himself an elite receiver with his performance last season — 74 receptions for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns in 14 games, despite playing most of the year with backup quarterback Brett Hundley instead of two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers (broken collarbone), and despite suffering a pair of concussions on wicked helmet-to-helmet hits from Chicago’s Danny Trevathan and Carolina’s Thomas Davis — there’s now an obvious hole on the opposite side.