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Both Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr signed massive contract extensions in the offseason to remain their respective teams’ quarterbacks for the foreseeable future. While Rodgers is the back-to-back reigning MVP and Carr has never won the hardware, the Las Vegas Raiders signal-caller, by all accounts, will have a significant edge in the aerial weapon department heading into the 2022 season.
Not only do the Raiders showcase Pro Bowl wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and 2020 Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller as pass-catching options, but the team added former Green Bay Packers stud wideout Davante Adams to the mix in March as well. The receiving options currently at Rodgers’ disposal in Green Bay, meanwhile, are currently less than stellar on paper.
At the top of the depth chart is Allen Lazard, who, despite coming off a season in which he set career highs across the board in targets (60), receptions (40), receiving yards (513) and receiving touchdowns (eight), has never spent an entire season as a No. 1 receiver. Along with Lazard in the projected three-wide set of starters are oft-injured newcomer Sammy Watkins and soon-to-be 32-year-old Randall Cobb.
Behind that trio is a slew of youngsters who gained some positive feedback earlier in training camp from their starting quarterback. On Tuesday, though, Rodgers had a notably different tone.
“The young guys, especially young receivers, we’ve got to be way more consistent,” he said, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, running the wrong route. We’ve got to get better in that area.”
According to Demovsky, the comments weren’t directed at either Lazard, Cobb or Watkins. This left rookie Romeo Doubs as one of the players on the receiving end of the criticism.
“It’s coming up,” the future Hall of Famer said of the regular season. “Yeah, it’s coming up. It really is. We’re going to play our best guys when the season starts. And whoever those guys are, those guys are going to get the reps. It’s the guys I trust the most and the guys the coaches trust the most. A lot of it is just the simple responsibility in the offense. Way before body positioning and movement and throw, and all that stuff, are you in the right spot at the right time? Are you running the right route?”
Demovsky wrote that “as productive as Doubs has been, making repeated tough catches in practice and a 33-yard touchdown against the 49ers, the fourth-round draft pick also has been plagued by drops, including two in the preseason opener.”
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