Quarterback Aaron Rodgers comes into the 2022 NFL season hoping that his current wide receiver corp can make up for the loss of Davante Adams’s production. Based on his comments Tuesday, it sounds like some of his young receivers aren’t there yet and he’s not pleased.
“The young guys, especially young receivers, we’ve got to be way more consistent,” Rodgers said to reporters on Tuesday. “A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, running the wrong route. We’ve got to get better in that area.”
Rodgers’ comments were clearly pointed at specific receivers and not Allen Lazard, who the Packers quarterback has praised in recent weeks. Given that he was calling out young receivers, he probably didn’t mean Randall Cobb or free agent signing Sammy Watkins either, especially since the two-time defending MVP later called out Watkins for praise.
More likely, Rodgers seemed to be inferring that rookie Romeo Doubs, who dropped what Rodgers later called “my best throw of the day” against the New Orleans Saints, as well as other receiver mistakes that led to Jordan Love’s very-bad game that included three interceptions.
Rodgers specifically referred to two of those interceptions as “not a great route, not a great finish by Romeo” and “a contested ball [to] a guy who’s running the wrong route.”
And just in case he didn’t make his point clear, Rodgers all but said that if you can’t prove that you’ll catch the passes, you won’t be out there on the field with him.
“You keep dropping the ball, you’re not going to be out there. It’s going to be the most reliable guys that are out there,” said Rodgers. “The preparation and the job responsibility is most important. There’s going to be physical mistakes, like we’ve talked about, but if you’re going out there and dropping the ball and somebody else behind you is in the right spot all the time and catching the ball, that guy’s going to play.”
The good news for Rodgers is that Christian Watson, the 34th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been activated off the physically unable to perform list and is en route to joining the team. Tight end Robert Tonyan was also activated this week and could be cleared for drills soon.
In the meantime, if you’re a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, do everyone a favor and catch anything and everything that is thrown your way.
[ESPN]
