While the overall volume isn’t there yet, Romeo Doubs has made an impact when it’s mattered most in the Green Bay Packers’ first three games. With Christian Watson still on the mend and rookies as the other primary options, Doubs has stepped up to be the go-to receiver for Jordan Love in the biggest moments.
Having become something of a training camp legend over his first two seasons, Doubs entered the season with some uncertainty regarding how he’d perform given a hamstring injury he’d been nursing. Doubs had only five targets and four catches in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, but two of them were four touchdowns. The first was just a good route along the back of the end zone for the opening score of the game. But the second was more noteworthy. Doubs went up to win a one-on-one ball on a fade route over Chicago rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to give Green Bay a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
There were a couple of noteworthy aspects of the play that should be a sign of things to come for Doubs in Green Bay’s offense. It came on first down, meaning it was the play that Packers coach Matt LaFleur liked best on the goal-to-go section of his call sheet. Love takes his three-step drop and looks left the entire time, never considering going anywhere else with the football. All he had to do was put enough loft on the throw, and LaFleur and Love had confidence that Doubs would come down with the catch for six.
That confidence for a young quarterback can’t be overstated. Throws like this take timing, rapport, and the trust that the wideout is going to come down with the football. It’s a relationship that most quarterbacks and pass-catchers aspire to have, and few duos actually do. Aaron Rodgers had it with two wide receivers, Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams. Rodgers would often say that if he saw the nameplate of the defender, he considered that wide receiver open. The famous back-shoulder connection that Rodgers and Nelson had? That’s chemistry in its final form.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, in Sunday’s 18-17 win over the New Orleans Saints, that Love repeatedly kept going back to Doubs. The 12 targets that Doubs saw on Sunday was easily a career high, and the fact that it only translated to five receptions serves to highlight that Love still felt the need to keep going back to him. With the Packers desperately in need of a chunk play to get the offense rolling late in the third quarter, Love lofted a ball down the left sideline that needed a remarkable effort from Doubs to bring it in for 30 yards. Doubs cradled the ball in his fingertips and dragged his feet along the way.
The connection between Love and Doubs culminated at the most crucial part of the game, on third down, in the red zone, with the Packers looking to complete the comeback. Once again, locked in on Doubs immediately. He planted on the third step of his three-step drop, and placed the ball in a position where only Doubs could make the play, and make the play Doubs did.
The 73 yards Doubs gained on Sunday tied his career high, and the five catches isn’t in line with the upper echelon of wide receivers in the league. Doubs isn’t there yet, nor is he particularly close, but the foundation for that type of relationship he has with Love is building. With a full complement of weapons (hopefully) coming soon in the Green Bay offense, Doubs has established himself as the primary red-zone threat, which is where the top-tier receivers separate themselves from the pack.
Christian Watson will undoubtedly have a big role, but not this specific one with the Packers. The fact that Love has often locked in on Doubs is telling. No matter the coverage, he trusts the second-year wideout. The relationship is still in its relative infancy, especially when it comes to live reps, but the early returns have certainly been positive for Doubs and Love, particularly in the red zone.
