Could Romeo Doubs emerge in Packers offense in 2022?
If you don’t follow the Nevada Wolf Pack or the Mountain West Conference, the activity of Day 3 of the NFL Draft or are not a fan of the Green Bay Packers, you might not have heard of wide receiver Romeo Doubs.
I fall into the former, but I digress.
Anywho, Doubs was one of two receivers — the other being Christian Watson — drafted by the Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft, getting selected in the fourth round (No. 132 overall).
After trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders in March, the biggest storyline out of Wisconsin is that Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are in need of production at the wide receiver position. Green Bay added veteran Sammy Watkins in the offseason, as well as Watson and Doubs — joining Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers as the presumptive top targets to supplement Adams’ production in 2022?
Training camp for the Green Bay Packers began last week, and it appears that Doubs has been the clear breakaway star in the first couple of days of practice.
“Romeo Doubs has had a really nice start to camp. Getting a lot of attention based on some of the plays he’s made,” Aaron Rodgers said on NFL Network Saturday. ” Like the approach, very understated kid, very humble kid.
“It’s surprising how many teams passed on him. Whatever the reason was, we all feel really good about Romeo and the start he’s gotten off to.”
Quote via NFL Network
High praise from the star quarterback. Here’s what Cobb, who’s entering his 12th year, had to say about Doubs last week as well:
“Nobody knows [Romeo Doubs’] ceiling just yet,” Cobb said. “He has a lot of intangibles. He has a lot of special gifts and that’s potential. I think we all know potential is one thing but seeing it out, I think that just goes with time. It’s going to us a little bit of time to figure out how good he’s going to be, but he has the pieces. We never want to set too high of expectations on people, but I think he’s shown some flashes and if he continues to be consistent with that, that’ll be great for us.
“I think the biggest piece is just his ability with the 50-50 ball. When it’s thrown up and it’s between him and a DB to go up and make a play, that’s one thing you can’t coach. You can’t really teach that. You eighter have it or you don’t, and he has it — that’s special.”
Find full quote here.
While a fourth-round rookie breaking out in training camp might not mean anything in the long run — as Cobb mentioned, it’s going to take time to figure out his ceiling, like it typically would be for most mid-round rookies — it’s worth wondering whether the 6-foot-2 receiver could theoretically emerge as a fourth non-running back option behind Lazard, tight end Robert Tonyan and Cobb.
Since the start of 2008, Rodgers’ first full season behind center after Brett Favre darted to the New York Jets, there’s only been seven Packer receivers who have garnered at least 10 catches as rookies.
The most recent examples were Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown, fifth- and sixth-round selections, respectively, in 2018.
Valdes-Scantling hauled in 38 receptions — tied with Adams for the most amongst the seven rookies over that span — for 581 yards and two touchdowns, ranking third on the team in each category. St. Brown followed up with 21 catches for 328 yards.
Adams, a second-rounder, caught 38 passes for 446 yards and three scores as a rookie in 2014.
So, in summary, Rodgers doesn’t have a great track record of establishing fruitful connections with rookie receivers.
But let’s add additional context. The difference about Doubs’ situation now compared to the three aforementioned players was that they were playing with established receivers in the offense.
As a rookie, Adams played behind Jordy Nelson and Cobb at or near their primes — the pair combined for 189 receptions, over 2,800 yards and 25 touchdowns that year. Valdes-Scantling and St. Brown were both obviously behind Adams, who emerged for 111 receptions, 1,386 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Doubs, meanwhile, is alongside Lazard, Cobb (past his prime), Watkins (past his prime) and possibly Watson — each of whom will be throwing themselves at Rodgers for targets. Why can’t Doubs be the one that breaks out as a secondary option right away?
At Nevada, he more-than-established himself as a deep threat in Matt Mumme’s air-raid attack, hauling in 138 receptions for 2,111 yards and 20 touchdowns in his final two seasons with quarterback Carson Strong, who was once projected to be a first-round pick but went undrafted largely due to the injury concerns in his knee.
Head coach Matt LaFleur praised Doubs’ early work ethic and commitment to improving in camp, already establishing a rhythm for himself.
“[Romeo Doubs] is the first one in the building,” said head coach Matt LaFleur told the Packers media on Friday. “He is in his locker getting primed. I see him in the weight room getting his body and mind ready. He’s already kind of established a routine for himself, and I think that’s one of the things that rookies have a hard time finding, and once they do, they can take off.
“It’s just Day 1, so anybody can do something one day,” he said. “It’s how consistently can you do it.”
Quote via Packers Wire/USA Today Sports
I might be sounding the horn way too quickly with Romeo Doubs since training camp just started. I understand that. Everything I’ve seen since the start of his career at Nevada to now suggests that the “pieces” are there, like Cobb mentioned.
It’s always a good sign when a receiver can establish early rapport with Aaron Rodgers, and it seems like Doubs can do that. So don’t be surprised if he breaks out in the Green Bay offense in 2022, should be stay healthy.
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