Aaron Rodgers may not be as concerned about his wide receivers as many Green Bay Packers fans seem to be.
Rodgers was asked about his receiving group on Saturday amid the loss of Davante Adams, who was sold to the Las Vegas Raiders in a franchise swap deal this offseason. The quarterback doesn’t seem intimidated by the challenge of making new goals on this offense.
“I like the guys we have,” Rodgers said at Saturday’s training camp: Saturday Back Together. “Of course, without Davante, who scored the lion’s share of goals last year and had an incredible season, there’s going to be the same amount of balls, yards and touchdowns. So now it’s about who’s going to be in those situations to make those plays.”
One incumbent who seems poised for a big role is Allen Lazard, who finished last season strong and ended 2021 with eight touchdown catches. After Rodgers joked earlier this week about both Adams and Lazard being future Hall of Famers, Rodgers got serious about his clear expectations for Lazard — in a contract season for the receiver, no less.
“Obviously, Allen Lazard is going to step into the No. 1 role,” Rodgers said, “and I think it’s going to be a very seamless transition for him as a main blocker and kind of a niche guy for us to get an opportunity to throw more.” get to be #1 in progression more often.”
There could also be help from the Packers’ two WR draft picks, second-round pick Christian Watson and fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs. Watson remains on the disabled list, with Rodgers saying he expects him back “in a few weeks”.
In his absence, Doubs was one of the camp’s early standouts, notching several impressive catches, according to practice observers. While Rodgers hasn’t traditionally relied heavily on rookies, Doubs clearly made a positive early impression.
“Romeo Doubs had a really good start to camp,” Rodgers said. “He’s garnered a lot of attention because of some of his plays. I like the approach. A very reserved boy, a very humble boy from sort of inner-city LA, made his way to Nevada.
“I was having lunch with him the other day and I was really amazed. It’s surprising how many teams have passed him. Whatever the reason, we all feel very good about Romeo and his start.”
Rodgers also threw bones at longtime running mate Randall Cobb, who Rodgers believes is “still a superb slot receiver,” and Sammy Watkins, who was signed as a free agent, who Rodgers said had “a lot of experience” and also ” much to prove”. .”
“I think these guys are a little more dangerous because they have so much more to play,” Rodgers said.
But just as the warm fuzzies were flowing, Rodgers dropped a pretty big caveat: The Packers haven’t even had full-contact drills yet.
“The big equalizer — I’ve said it many times, I’m sure you feel the same way — is pads,” he said. “When we put the pads on next week we will see how good we are up front, how confident we are out there and I think you will also see how good our defense can be.”
We could also then find out if Rodgers is as confident in his newly formed receiver group as he seems to be in the early days of camp.