The Green Bay Packers believe they are witnessing the beginning of a second-year jump from wide receiver Romeo Doubs during the offseason workout program.
“Rome has done a nice job of really making that next step,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Tuesday’s practice. “Now he has to go out and do it in games, but what we’ve seen from him in practice…just how deliberate he is with what he’s trying to work on. He’s doing a great job of getting his feet in the ground, running violent routes, violent cuts. Being aggressive with his hands. I think he’s shown a lot of progress.”
Doubs, a fourth-round pick of the Packers last season, caught 42 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns over 14 games as a rookie. He was excellent during training camp and productive to start the regular season, catching at least one pass of 20 or more yards or scoring a touchdown during each of his first five games.
As is the case with every rookie, the highs come with unavoidable lows.
Doubs rebounded from a tough stretch against the Jets and Commanders and caught four passes and a touchdown in primetime against the Bills, but an ankle injury suffered on an 18-yard catch early against the Detroit Lions in Week 9 stunted what he was building as a rookie.
Healthy and confident, Doubs said he was “playing faster” after a practice last week.
Part of taking the next step will be getting on the same page as Jordan Love, the Packers’ first-year starting quarterback. If OTAs are any indication, Love-to-Doubs will be a common connection come the regular season.
“Just the rapport that those two guys have shown throughout eight practices has been pretty solid,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur pointed to Doubs’ process and routine as big reasons why he’s primed to make a big jump.
“I always look back to the person,” LaFleur said. “There are sometimes you almost have to pull him back because he’s so invested into it and puts so much time into it, that sometimes you can almost wear yourself out. That’s one thing with him, you never have to worry about whether or not he’s working. When we get out of here, and the time he spends away from here, he’ll be very deliberate with what he does. So I expect him to be able to pick up right where he left off. He’s done some unbelievable things throughout the course of these OTAs, whether it’s with the route running or the catches. Just continue building on that rapport that he has with Jordan.”
Doubs made one of the splash plays of Tuesday’s practice when he hauled in a contested touchdown catch from Love on a fade route during a live team drill.
