Raiders Draft: Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada scouting report

The Las Vegas Raiders need a wideout who can stretch the field. Nevada Wolfpack wide receiver Romeo Doubs can fill that role and brings some YAC skills to the table to make an impact in all areas of the field. He’ll be at the Senior Bowl in a couple of weeks to prepare for the NFL Draft.

WR | Nevada | 6’2” 200 pounds | Los Angeles, CA

Overview:

Romeo Doubs came to Nevada as a 3-star recruit and the 188th wide receiver in the country for the 2018 class, per 247 Sports. Despite not being a “high-profile” player coming out of high school, he earned a starting spot early on as a true freshman and hauled in 228 receptions for 3,366 yards and 26 touchdowns in four years in Reno. The Los Angeles native eventually became the Wolfpack’s No. 1 receiver and was one of the best players in the Mountain West conference, due to his speed to win deep and shiftiness after the catch.

Strengths:

• Good size for an NFL wide receiver
• Against press coverage, he attacks leverage to give himself a two-way go, has quick feet and effective head/shoulder fakes to win at the line of scrimmage
• Also uses his hands well with solid strength to get defensive backs’ hands off of him in the five-yard window
• Good acceleration off the line of scrimmage to eat up off coverage defenders’ cushion
• During the stem phase of deep routes, he attacks leverage and works to get to the defensive back’s blind spot
• Recognizes and sits in holes against zone coverage
• He’s a decently sharp route runner with good change of direction on 90-degree routes and doesn’t drift much after making the cut
• Good suddenness on slants and short ins
• Has decent explosion on 45-degree cuts to help create some separation
• His speed allows him to beat linebackers badly and get away from defensive backs on drag routes, and he has the long speed to get behind defenses
• Has good sideline awareness and body control to drag his feet near the boundary, even started getting 2 feet down in bounds as a senior
• Impressive vision and burst to create yards after the catch on screens and short routes, was targeted a lot here in college
• Shifty and elusive after the catch to make defensive backs’ miss, and he has good balance to stay on his feet through arm tackles from over-pursuers

Areas of Improvement:

• Could afford to add another press release outside of foot fire and head/shoulder fakes
• On shorter routes, he can do too much dancing and needs to find the balance between giving fakes and getting into the route
• Has questionable ball tracking to put himself in an optimal position to be able to make a clean hands catch, position himself between the ball and defender on contested catches, or give himself a chance on underthrown/inaccurate deep passes
• He doesn’t have strong or natural hands to make difficult catches where his arms are outstretched
• Lacks some hand-eye coordination when moving, leading to drops and he really struggles with concentration drops on drag routes. He has a habit of running before securing the catch
• Doesn’t show a lot of effort when blocking, even on screens

Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

Injuries:

2019: Shoulder (missed two games), concussion (missed one game)

2021: Undisclosed (missed one game)

Projection:

NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board rank: 76th, 3rd round

Projections for Doubs are kind of all over the place. Some people view him in the end of first round to early-second category, and others have him slotted as a Day 3 guy. I’m probably closer to the former category as I see him as a mid-second- to early-third-round pick.

I really like how he can make an impact on all three levels of the field, but his hands and lack of ball-tracking skills are very worrisome. That being said, I think he’d be a good fit in just about any offense and has the skillset to develop into a “No. 1 receiver” down the line.

What do we need to know?

Are his ball tracking issues going to lower his ceiling as a deep threat? Having the speed to win deep is one thing but it isn’t going to matter if Doubs can’t consistently find the ball in the air and get underneath it. Being able to stretch the field is a big part of the Nevada product’s game and something the team that drafts him is going to expect from him.

Fit with the Raiders:

Doubs’ fit with the Silver and Black is an interesting one. He can fill the offense’s void for a vertical presence and has the upside to grow beyond that role, but Las Vegas might be looking for that go-to wideout for quarterback Derek Carr immediately. So, it depends on how patient their willing to be with Doubs or if they’ll look to draft someone earlier who is a more complete product.

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