RP Clips: Romeo Doubs Can Thrive in New England

**Matt Harmon** (0:00)
This is Reception Perception, The Show. James Koh and Matt Harmon.
Okay, next one for me and final one, the most boring one, I saved the most boring one for last.

**James Koh** (0:12)
Oh, okay.

**Matt Harmon** (0:13)
Romeo Doubs catches 80 plus passes this season.
I am really, honestly, again, to bring up the Keishon Booty and the Kyle Williams profile, I'm really spooked about the Patriots offense a little bit. Not that I think they're gonna be bad this year, but just the design of who is playing the X receiver spot in this offense. And Romeo Doubs was an X last year for the Green Bay Packers, but he wasn't necessarily a vertical X. And I think everybody is going to acknowledge Romeo Doubs is not really a vertical threat.
Yeah, I look at the whole structure of the passing game right now, and every report out of camp is that Romeo Doubs is going to be like, they talk about him more as the slot option versus AJ Brown being the slot option. I would be a little bit shocked, a little bit shocked if we ended up seeing AJ Brown as in the K'sham Booty, Kyle Williams mold of 90% outside on the line of scrimmage, and 34.4% go route percentage for K'sham Booty last year. That was the third highest in any season I have ever charted. Guess who number five was? Kyle Williams.
It is really crazy when you look at just how sacrificial those, maybe Kyle Williams, is their sacrificial excess here. I don't know, but it hasn't sounded like he's a top three receiver necessarily on the depth chart, although he's balled out in preseason. He's been making some of those sacrifices look pretty good because he basically just catches a go-route, bomb every single preseason game. I looked back at this and I started charting RP in 2014 And to be frank, there haven't been a ton of number outside receivers to chart in the New England Patriots offense over that span. I went back to Chris Hogan, who was kind of a 60-40 outside slot. So I don't know if that really counted. Brandon Cooks was back in 2017 He was not deployed this way. So that's interesting. But then I looked at it and I don't have data for these guys, but I looked at PFF data. 2021 Nelson Aguilar ran a go route on 34% of his routes that year. 2019 Philip Dorsett, 33% of his routes that year were go routes. Nelson Aguilar was outside on 92% of his routes in 2021 Like, is this just what Josh McDaniels does with his ex receiver? I mean, in fairness, he didn't really... This is not how Devonte Adams was used with the Las Vegas Raiders, but at least some of these examples are interesting to me. And it just makes me a little nervous about... I'm very nervous. I'm nervous about, like, does AJ. Brown get stuck in that role? And that, to me, is more problematic than the any sort of... And obviously, I am a little worried about the signs of decline we saw last year. And I think that's going to make it look worse. Like, I think that would make it look worse if AJ. Brown is in that role.
I'm hoping that I'm just overthinking it, and this is not so static. But let's just say it is. And even if it's not that static, I still think Romeo Doubs is actually... Like, nobody cares. Nobody's talked about Romeo Doubs. But I think he's actually set up really well to be the clear-cut number two in this offense. Drake May is a dude. His routes fit Drake May really well. I think Romeo Doubs is going to come out here and have a pretty surprising... I think AJ. Brown can still be good, but I think Romeo Doubs is going to have a pretty surprising season this year.

**James Koh** (3:43)
Is there anything in Josh McDaniel's profile that suggests that he can get creative as the season goes along? I don't think so. I think what we see in early season is going to be indicative, very indicative of what we see late in the season. And the other thing I'll say about Josh McDaniel's too is, yeah, I just don't know how creative he is.
And you could make the case that, hey, he just hasn't had a good collection of wide receivers. So what's the point of getting creative with the routes?

**Matt Harmon** (4:17)
But more of a reason to be creative.

**James Koh** (4:20)
That's also a great point, man. That's also a great point. But I don't know, like, I know Josh McDaniel's has built his entire career on the bones of New England and Tom Brady and all those things. But I don't know, man. Like I said, like him away from Tom Brady, are we that sure that he is a guy? Like I almost feel like he gets a pass. And I'm not going to be that guy that just automatically gives Josh McDaniel's a pass.