Rodgers Eager to See Rookie Receivers Battle Standout Corners

What's the best way to get Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure ready for the season? To let them face Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas, Aaron Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 7, 2022 1:16 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When the Green Bay Packers drafted Jaire Alexander in the first round in 2018, they got him ready by giving him a heaping helping of Davante Adams every day on the practice field.

When the Packers drafted Eric Stokes in the first round in 2021, they sent Stokes to the same school of hard knocks.

This summer, the pupils will become teachers. What better way to figure out if rookie receivers Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure will be ready for prime time than to give them as many reps as possible against the Packers’ premier cornerback trio of Alexander, Stokes and Rasul Douglas?

“There’s no better teacher for them on what NFL ball's going to be like than going against our top three corners,” Rodgers said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. “So, those guys will get a real quick initiation into the NFL.”

Alexander emerged from his daily battles with Adams as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Stokes became a top rookie by going against Adams and Rodgers “24/7” and “consistently getting better and finding out my weaknesses.”

The hope is a bit of role reversal will help accelerate the learning curve for Watson, Doubs and Toure – drafted in the second, fourth and seventh round, respectively. The Packers traded Davante Adams to the Raiders, leaving an enormous void in the offense.

“I played against the best receiver in the league, Davante Adams, all four years I’ve been here,” Alexander said during minicamp. “I’m going to make it as hard as I can for those guys because I know on Sunday it’s going to pay off. Iron sharpens iron. However I can help to make them better, I’m going to do that.”

Rodgers didn’t give himself much exposure with the rookies. Having skipped the three weeks of organized team activities, his offseason workload consisted of only the two days of mandatory minicamp. Nonetheless, all three receivers impressed the four-time MVP. Watson has an elite combination of size and speed, Doubs routinely got behind the defense and Toure made some big catches during two-minute drills.

“Physically, they definitely look the part, all three of them,” Rodgers said. “All three of the guys we drafted, they all have physical gifts. Obviously, the top two picks are bigger, Doubs and Watson, but the seventh-round pick’s got a lot of stuff to him.”

Speaking to reporters at minicamp, Rodgers downplayed his limited role in the offseason practices, calling them “story filler.” The key for Watson and Co. will be to learn the offense that’s outlined on the team iPads.

“There’s the offense on paper and then there’s the offense that gets run on the field,” he said. “They need to learn the offense on paper first, and once they get that down, then we’ll have plenty of time in training camp to get the other offense down.”

With the trade of Adams and the free-agent departure of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Rodgers urged everyone take a “deep long breath” in terms of the progress at receiver. There are 46 days between the start of training camp on July 27 and the Week 1 game at the Vikings. That, in Rodgers’ mind, will be enough time to sort out how the team is going to march forward with the likes of Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers and the draft picks.