As the Green Bay Packers deal with injuries at the receiver position and have different players in and out of the lineup, second year wide receiver Romeo Doubs has provided Jordan Love with stability at the position and been a go-to target in key situations.
Over the last month in particular, the Packers have been without Christian Watson for all four games. At various points, they’ve also not had Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed.
However, Doubs has been available in all 16 games up to this point in the season and has played 80 percent of Green Bay’s offensive snaps. Out of all receivers, Doubs ranks 18th in total snaps played this season.
“I think Rome’s been very consistent,” said Matt LaFleur. “Obviously, he’s made a lot of big time plays for us, and in particular, it’s happen to come out this way down in the red area. You can always count on him to go out there and when given the opportunity he’s made some big plays for us this year.
“I think he’s really grown, I would say over the course of the last two seasons, just in terms of being so consistent and so reliable. That’s a great comfort for our offense, for our football team, for Jordan. Knowing that he can always count on Rome to go out there and get the job done.”
Doubs leads this Packers team in targets with 92, and up until Reed’s Sunday night performance in Minnesota, he also led the Packers’ offense in receptions and receiving yards. He’s also tied with Reed for the team lead with eight touchdowns, and that figure is good for the seventh-most at the receiver position in football.
In addition to being available every week, Doubs has provided Love with a safety net in key situations. In recent weeks, Doubs caught the go-ahead touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers in the final minutes.
On a fourth-and-one in the second half against Kansas City with the Chiefs down just two, Love connected with Doubs for 33 yards, putting Green Bay at the 11 yard line and setting up a touchdown. Then versus Carolina, Doubs 36 yard pass on third down, which several plays later resulted in the go-ahead field goal.
On third and fourth downs this season, Doubs has caught 19-of-30 passes with 15 of those receptions going for a first down. He’s also had five touchdowns as well. Inside the opponent’s 10 yard line, Doubs has caught 6-of-9 passes with all 6 catches going for scores. Overall, in the red zone, Doubs has nine receptions, eight first downs, and seven touchdowns.
“Romeo is a guy that has come up clutch for us in so many situations this year,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “Not only down in the red zone, but third downs—some big catches, some contested catches. He’s such a safety net for Jordan in those situations when you can go to a guy like that.
“His consistency of being out there and playing hard. He’s developing into one of those guys where he can develop into an every down wideout. It’s fun to watch him develop.”
Watson brings a presence to this offense with his size and speed that no one else does. Wicks and Reed have emerged as playmaking threats, Wicks with his route running ability and Reed with his shiftiness. Not to mention we’ve seen Bo Melton and Malik Heath come up in big moments as well. Where Doubs stands in that pecking order week-to-week isn’t always clear, but on this version of the Green Bay Packers, it doesn’t matter a whole lot either.
One of several things that this offense has going for it right now is that one any given play, Love could go to four or five different players with the ball—and that’s dependent on how the defense is defending Green Bay and what Love’s reads are. The fact that Melton was the first Packers receiver this season to eclipse 100 yards in a game perfectly encapsulates this.
When a defense can’t key in on one or even two players, it’s an added stressor for them and forces the defense to defend the entire field, thus spacing the defenders out and creating opportunities in the passing game that Love has been very good at taking advantage of.
With the emergence of several different pass catchers all at various points throughout the season, Doubs, at times, can fly under the radar. But as Love has navigated his first season as a starting quarterback, throughout the ups and downs, Doubs has been there to lean on—both from an availability standpoint and also in key situations.
“It’s huge,” said Love of Doubs’ reliability. “Obviously with guys going down, not everybody being healthy this week, that’s when you need other guys to step up. Obviously, Rome knew that going into it and he did what he’s been doing all year, making plays. I think his confidence right now too, the way he’s playing is playing all into that, but it helps a lot to have him out there making those plays.”