8. Davante Adams: March 17th, 2022. I remember getting the notification on my phone that a huge trade happened between the Green Bay Packers and Las Vegas Raiders. The day before, Aaron Rodgers signed a big extension that made him the highest-paid player in the league. All the other questions now were pointed to the Wide Receiver. Would Green Bay pay him? Or would he walk? He ends up getting traded to play with his former college teammate and then-Raiders Quarterback, Derek Carr. It was a different team, but the same production. Davante Adams is back for the third consecutive year on the list. He checks in at number eight and enters this season as my third-ranked receiver in the league.
At this point, I’ve run out of things to say about him. These last few seasons, he’s emerged into that guy you can build an offense around. Davante is one of those guys that can do everything. He can get up the field vertically, single him up on the back side and he works in all different areas of the field. No matter where he is, he’s productive and that’s all you can ask of him. I’ve always loved his mindset. “Put everyone on me to stop me because I’m that guy”. Davante practices as if every situation were an actual game. He has the mentality that he can win every rep. To this day, I’ll never understand why defenses elect to defend him in one-on-one coverage. When he’s isolated, he’s getting the football, plain and simple. A play from the 2022 season that comes to mind took place in his Raiders debut against the Los Angeles Chargers. Davante ran such a great route, and he was so smooth coming out of the release and made the Defensive Back fall. After that, he was wide open, and the ball found him. He’s the definition of great route running. Davante is so quick off the release and can make defenders think he’s going one way and goes in the opposite direction. He’s so fluid in the open field and knows how to free himself to get open to make a catch.
The big question when it came to number 17 last year was how he would fare without Aaron Rodgers. So many people are quick to label Wide Receivers as a “product of the Quarterback”. I don’t think we have to apply that label to Davante. At one point during last season, Davante had more receiving yards and touchdowns himself than the entire Green Bay group of receivers. Let that sink in.
