For the Packers' quarterback-turned-receiver, switching positions is just another hurdle to clear (2024)

GREEN BAY — As the Green Bay Packers kicked off the organized team activity practice portion of their offseason program on Monday, they did so with 90 players on their roster, if you included their three yet-to-be-signed draft picks.

Each and every one of them had overcome some sort of adversity during their journey. All of them had a unique story to tell.

But only one player began OTAs at a completely different position than he’d played previously: Quarterback-turned-receiver Alex McGough.

The former USFL MVP, who joined the team in July 2023 after leading the Birmingham Stallions to back-to-back titles before the USFL and XFL merged to become the UFL, spent all of last season on the Packers’ practice squad as the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind starter Jordan Love and primary backup Sean Clifford.

But after beating out Danny Etling for the third QB spot, McGough spent most of the 2023 season playing wide receiver and tight end on the scout team while Love and Clifford took the vast majority of quarterback reps.

And while McGough made some headlines last season for being involved in a practice collision with two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander that led to Alexander missing time with a back injury, the coaches liked what they saw from McGough enough to experiment with him as a pass catcher instead of a pass, er, thrower.

“He’s a really athletic guy, he spent a lot of time on the scout team running receiver routes,” coach Matt LaFleur explained leading up to OTAs. “He did such a great job, and we feel like he’s just such a talented athlete, why not give him a chance there?”

The Packers were very happy with what Clifford showed as a rookie fifth-round pick from Penn State, even though Clifford played just 13 regular-season snaps behind the durable Love (1,083 snaps) last season.

They then added Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt with one of their seventh-round picks last month. Although Pratt was selected after McGough’s transition to receiver was underway, his addition — and the coaches’ preference for only having three quarterbacks take snaps in training camp — essentially ended McGough’s quarterback opportunities.

That said, his quarterbacking experience is paying off inside the wide receivers’ meeting room, where new position coach Ryan Mahaffey and offensive passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable can see how McGough’s grasp of the system and alternative perspective are helping him in his against-the-odds mission to make the team at wideout.

“There are a lot of things in terms of the rhythm and the timing of the play that he can add to the conversation,” Mahaffey said. “(On the scout team), you could see him run, you could see his ball skills. And, obviously he’s intelligent. It’s been fun to be able to add him into the mix.

“Playing quarterback, he has a solid foundation of what we’re trying to get done from a passing game standpoint and he’s a very hard worker, so he comes in each and every day trying to work and to be at his best.”

That said, McGough’s challenge is even more daunting because of the Packers’ depth at receiver, where they had seven rookies, first- and second-year players — Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Christian Watson, Bo Melton, Malik Heath and Samori Touré — all show glimpses of being bona fide NFL wide receivers last season.

Still, as he explained in an interview in training camp last summer, his circuitous football journey has taught him to make the best of every situation.

The 28-year-old McGough, who threw for 9,084 yards and 65 touchdowns at Florida International, entered the league as a 2018 seventh-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks and has also spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans — but has yet to play a regular-season NFL snap.

“Every opportunity, in my opinion, is the same. You’ve got to go out there and perform and just make plays. I think my time in the USFL’s taught me that,” McGough said. “That’s what I’m trying to do every play. I’m trying to make the result a positive one for the team and whatever happens there, happens from there.

“I have a quote that I say all the time. ‘Those who surrender the outcome have the greatest chance of success.’ Whatever happens to me, happens to me. As long as I give my best — my best effort, my best everything that I can give — then I did my best and whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.

“I’ve got it written down on all my notebooks. As long as you did your best, there’s nothing else you can do.”

And even with the deck stacked against him, McGough intends to do just that.

“He did everything last year. He’s a great team guy,” LaFleur said. “He’s a smart guy, works his tail off. I think he can definitely contribute on (special teams) as well. So, we felt like this might be his best chance here.”