The Romeo Doubs Hype Train Is Not Slowing Down
Packers Rookie WR’s Success Continues In First Pre-Season Game
Last night I finally got to sit down on my couch and watch a live Green Bay Packers football game. Yes, it’s only the pre season but Packers football is Packers football.
One of the biggest stories coming out of Packers training camp this year has been the consistent domination of Romeo Doubs in practice. No other player has had more buzz than this 4th round draft pick. Because of the knee injury to Packer’s 2nd round WR Christian Watson, Romeo has had more opportunities to show what he’s made of these first few weeks of camp.
Enter last night's preseason game. We are facing off against the 49ers. The last time we saw them they knocked us out of the playoffs at Lambeau Field. Thank you very little. I cried for weeks.
It’s one thing for a player to make plays in practice, but it’s a completely different scenario when playing a live game in front of millions of fans watching on TV. Some players fold under pressure while others rise to the occasion. The harsh reality of the NFL is that only 53 of the 90 players at camp will make the final roster. It’s do or die in these pre-season games.
Romeo Doubs rose to the occasion in what I believe is the first of many great performances. He finished the night with 3 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. If it wasn’t for a couple Jordan Love under throws he would have had an even better night. This guy gets open. He constantly creates separation and puts himself in a great position to make plays. Defensive backs better get ready because many are going to be put on blast this season.
His speed is NO JOKE. We saw that on display last night. It was 4th and 2. 5:44 left in the first quarter. Romeo Doubs beats his man deep and Jordan Love throws a dime to Romeo in the endzone. I could get used to this.
This is one aspect of his game the Packers are going to need this year. A field stretcher. Losing Marquez-Valdez Scantling, one of the best deep threat wide receivers in the game, left a hole in this Packers offense. From all that I’ve seen it looks like Romeo can be the deep threat the Packers need. He also did it in college at Nevada averaging 14.8 yards per reception. We’ve seen him burn Eric Stokes in 1v1s in practice and Eric Stokes runs a 4.31 40 yard dash. Romeo can move. He can also win in the short and intermediate game. We’ve heard Packers GM Brain Gutekunst state that Romeo Doubs is a multi dimensional wide receiver who can win in more ways than one.
Young wide receivers are still going to make some mistakes as they adapt to playing in the NFL. Last night Romeo had a couple drops. Things like this are to be expected for rookies. I’m not worried about it at all. It was his first live game action in the NFL. Last year we saw reports coming out of Bengals camp that Ja’Marr Chase was struggling with drops and things ended up just fine for him his rookie season.
Because it’s the pre-season Aaron Rodgers did not start in last night’s game. It was Jordan Love’s time to shine. It wasn’t a terrible performance by Jordan Love as the box score would suggest (3 interceptions of which 2 were drops). But it wasn’t amazing either. He did look more confident in the pocket than last year and was able to drive the Packers down the field multiple times. When the season gets going Aaron Rodgers will be throwing to Romeo Doubs. I imagine Aaron was on the sideline smiling every time he saw Romeo Doubs get open. It takes time to build trust with Aaron Rodgers and Romeo Doubs already seems to have done that based on reports coming out of training camp.
Who knew that the Packer’s 4th round draft pick would be the guy getting the most attention this early? He’s progressed much faster than I anticipated. I think it may be time to buy a Romeo Doubs jersey. Or I could just duct tape over my Jordy Nelson jersey and save some money. Is the 12 to 87 connection Packers fans witnessed for years making a comeback?! Time will tell. But this is a good start.