The way this Green Bay Packers offense is set up, quarterback Jordan Love hasn't necessarily needed a true alpha wide receiver. Quite frankly, look at Love's numbers in his first full season as a starter and come up with a burning reason why he needs one.
You don't throw for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns by accident -- a happy accident the Chicago Bears have been waiting over 100 years for, I might add.
Love took some phenomenal strides in 2023. And, his wide receiver room did him plenty of favors without that bonafide number one. Looking at the variety of talent in that room, the Packers are set up for a promising immediate future.
Whether it's the multi-faceted Jayden Reed, the long speed of Christian Watson, the reliability of Romeo Doubs or the sneaky Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay has four young, budding wideouts. But, out of all of them, which would you expect to break through as the number one guy, if you had to bet?
Many would say it has to be Watson, or even Reed. But, according to head coach Matt LaFleur, it might just be another guy -- Doubs.
Said LeFleur of Doubs, after a recent minicamp practice:
"We challenged him on a couple things we thought he could really do a better job of with, and just continuing to stress the importance of opening up his stride and he's embraced that. And I think you've seen that and I think he's had a lot of great moments. Matter of fact, I can't think of a bad day that he's had out there. He just, he is definitely improving."
One expert believes Romeo Doubs might just be the Packers' most reliable wide receiver
After that recent Packers practice, ESPN's Rob Demovsky was the one to report LaFleur's words on Doubs, above, but he also wrote the following:
"...if there's a most reliable among that group, it might be third-year pro Romeo Doubs."
Last year, Doubs did in fact lead the Packers in targets with 96, just ahead of Reed with 94. Now, Reed is more dynamic in that he can impact the ground game as well. But, Doubs has shown flashes of being that dependable set of hands in crucial situations.
Whether it's third down or in the red zone, Doubs tends to come up with some big catches. The following may not have been from Love, but Doubs has made a living off making grabs like this:
If he can take yet another step in 2024 and see a consistent chunk of targets, Doubs certainly has what it takes to break out as the team's true number one.
The acrobatic grabs and crucial moments where he's come through seem to be aplenty. For Love, it would help having that "go-to" receiver as well. Sure, the rest of the room is highly talented. But, to be able to have that alpha presence ... it's indescribable what that can do for an offense, and specifically a young quarterback.
