The saying about availability being the best ability would be a cliche if it wasn’t so reliably true. And, for Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, it’s been a strength of his. Outside of missing some time with two concussions over the course of his career, Doubs has consistently remained suited up and ready to go.
In a season where Christian Watson started on the PUP list —and remains there — while Jayden Reed is missing significant time with a broken collarbone and Jones fracture in his foot, the spotlight on Doubs is as bright as ever. And it’s revealing an increasingly obvious truth: The Packers pony up the money for a Doubs extension.
Among all Packers wide receivers through four weeks, Doubs leads the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. Green Bay wide receivers have five touchdowns total this year; Doubs accounts for four of them.
His snap count has increased every week, and not once this season as a Packers WR logged more snaps than him. In Week 1, Doubs played 71% of the snaps for the offense. Against Washington in Week 2 it was 74%. In the last two weeks Doubs has played 89% and 90% of the snaps, respectively. Even with Watson and Reed in the picture last year, there was only one game that Doubs started and finished where he didn’t lead the wide receiver group in snaps played.
His importance to the offense can get overlooked because he doesn’t have Watson’s eye-popping speed and wasn’t a first-round pick like Matthew Golden. But over time he’s become the go-to guy for quarterback Jordan Love when the offense needs to make a play.
That was rarely more evident than in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Doubs had three touchdowns and a team-high eight targets in a game that blossomed into a shootout. When Love needed to make something happen, he looked towards No. 87.
After Brian Gutekunst drafted Golden and Savion Williams in the first and third round, respectively, this April, it become abundantly clear that not all the young receivers would be around for the long haul.
Doubs and Watson were entering the final year of their rookie deals. Watson has already been awarded a one-year extension. Next year it will be Reed and Dontayvion Wicks entering the final year of their rookie contracts.
It’s unrealistic to expect Green Bay to keep all six around for the long run. Doubs has become the piece that is irreplaceable. Wicks has been fine but has never matched Doubs’ level. Watson has had constant trouble staying healthy, while Reed has been riding the roller coaster of inconsistent play. One week Reed will look like the Packers’ WR1, and the next week he does a disappearing act. Doubs is the constant.
Yes, there were the odd circumstances last year where Doubs skipped practice without notifying anyone on the team, resulting in a one-gape suspension.
While it’s been a talking point for some ever sense, head coach Matt LaFleur knows it was a one-off.
In four years, Rome has done everything the right way. I know there was a little blip on the screen, but I think that was just a one-off. Over time, he does everything the right way in how he prepares and supports his teammates. It’s really cool to see a guy have success like that and I would expect that to continue.
In the offseason, Love was asked often about new first-round receiver Golden, as well as the receiving corps at large. One player he constantly raved about? Doubs.
I just love where he’s at mentally right now. He’s playing pretty lights out right now and making a lot of good plays when the ball’s in the air, which is one of those things that’s expected from Rome, and he’s done that so many times. But the headspace he’s at, attacking every day trying to find ways to get better, even when we’re not on the same page sometimes, and a play might be incomplete, we’re talking after and trying to figure out how we might do things differently, so I love where he’s at right now.
Doubs will likely never be a bonafide No. 1 wide receiver in the mold of a Justin Jefferson, Ceedee Lamb, or Ja’Marr Chase. His value is still sky high.
The addition of Micah Parsons, coupled with the contract Love is on, has tied Green Bay up a bit financially. But at this point it shouldn’t be a debate. The Packers need Doubs to stick around, and Doubs is a perfect fit in LaFleur’s offense. The front office must get a deal done.
