The Green Bay Packers are going to have a very young, unproven wide receiver room going into the 2023 season. Allen Lazard has signed a four-year $44 million contract with the New York Jets and Randall Cobb is still a free agent. The only remaining wide receivers on the roster are Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure, Bo Melton and Jeff Cotton. While their production in 2023 remains an unknown, head coach Matt LaFleur had high praise for Doubs in particular, comparing him to Davante Adams.
Do the Green Bay Packers Have the Next Davante Adams on Their Roster?
Davante Adams is one of the greatest wide receivers in Packers history. In his eight seasons with Green Bay, Adams put up 8,121 yards and 73 touchdowns. He set multiple single-season receiving records while making five Pro Bowls and was named First-Team All-Pro twice while wearing Green and Gold.
While not an overly fast receiver, Adams’ trademark is his unprecedented ability to run precise routes. It is this facet of the game that Matt LaFleur believes Romeo Doubs is most like the player he was drafted to help replace.
“I want to temper this comparison, but he’s got some Davante Adams-like movement skills. Now he’s got to learn how to use it and when to harness it. … There isn’t a route he can’t run.”
This is, indeed, very high praise. Adams transformed himself from a young wide receiver that struggled with dropped passes to being arguably the best pass catcher in the game. In his first two seasons, Adams had catch percentages of 57.6% and 53.0% respectively. He also had less than 1,000 yards combined in those seasons while catching just four touchdowns.
Doubs similarly had some issues holding onto the ball in his rookie season. He fumbled twice and had nine drops in 13 games played. Interestingly, he had a better catch percentage (62.5%) than Adams had in either of his first two seasons. In fact, he had a better catch percentage than Adams in 2022 (Adams had a catch percentage of 55%).
Of course, this is not to say that Doubs is going to go out there in 2023 and put up Davante Adams-like numbers. It took Adams years to master his craft. He didn’t have his first 1,000-yard season until his fifth season in the NFL. That being said, Doubs is off to a great start. In just 13 games last season, he had 42 receptions for 425 yards and three touchdowns. Comparatively, Adams had 38 receptions for 446 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games as a rookie.
The Green Bay Packers are known for finding phenomenal wide receivers in Day Two of the NFL Draft. They may have another one in Romeo Doubs.
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