Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Packers WR's breakout the key for QB Jordan Love's development 

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs was arguably the non-Aaron Rodgers story of last year's OTAs and training camp. With Rodgers now with the New York Jets and the Packers entering a new era, it appears as if Doubs is once again turning heads during the summer.

According to head coach Matt LaFleur, the second-year wideout has worked on elevating his game now that he's no longer a rookie. 

“Rome has done a nice job of really making that next step,” LaFleur said, per Zach Kruse of Packers Wire. “Now he has to go out and do it in games, but what we’ve seen from him in practice…just how deliberate he is with what he’s trying to work on. He’s doing a great job of getting his feet in the ground, running violent routes, violent cuts. Being aggressive with his hands. I think he’s shown a lot of progress.”

There's a ton of riding on Rodgers' replacement, Jordan Love, this season. In fact, an argument can be made that general manager Brian Gutekunst, as well as LaFleur, have staked both their reputation and their jobs on the development of the former first-round pick.

He'll never be Rodgers, just like Rodgers couldn't be Brett Favre. What Rodgers did, though, was fill Favre's shoes in his own way—and the result will eventually put him in the Hall of Fame.

It's unrealistic to expect the Packers to have a third-straight Hall of Fame quarterback, but Doubs taking the next step in 2023 will play a massive role in Love's positive development. With plenty of resources allocated to defense plus what is expected to be a strong rushing attack, the Pack doesn't need Love to be a Hall of Famer this year. They simply need him to be a Top 15 quarterback in order to stay competitive.

If Doubs takes the next step and improves on his 425 yards and three touchdowns from last season, Love having a successful season is completely realistic. 

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