Green Bay Packers now shift spotlight to Davante Adams

By Keegan Matheson | Aug 24, 2015

In the wake of Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson suffering a reported torn ACL, Davante Adams‘ second-year hype train is about to go into overdrive. Already enjoying an impressive offseason behind Nelson and Randall Cobb, this injury will catapult the fantasy football darling into a starting role with one of pro football’s top quarterbacks. This isn’t how the Green Bay Packers hoped for his opportunity to arise, but in the NFL, it’s all too often the reality.

The most prominent area of Nelson’s game that Green Bay will miss is his ability to stretch the field deep, which opened up coverage for Cobb to enjoy the great season that he did. Nelson ranked second in the NFL last season with eight receptions of 40 yards or more, trailing only DeSean Jackson of the Washington Redskins.

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Green Bay’s deep game is not lost, of course, as Cobb ranked third in the league last year with 24 receptions of 20 yards or more. The breakaway home run play may be left to the still-unkown commodity of Jeff Janis, but if this offense is going to continue operating at a top level, it’s all about Adams.

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Over the past four seasons, the Packers’ second-most targeted receiver has seen 96, 98, 93 and 127 targets. Cobb’s 127 in 2014 while playing behind Nelson seems to be an outlier as their receiving corps was fairly top-heavy, especially early in the season, but don’t be surprised if a similar situation emerges.

Rookie Ty Montgomery has generated some well-earned hype, but I hesitate to suggest he can recreate Adams’ 2014 rookie season out of the gates. Perhaps a combination of Janis, Jared Abbrederis or another camp body could fill in the back end with some complimentary production, but without Nelson, Adams is the starter. Clearcut, no competition.

Losing Nelson also eliminates a size factor that quarterback Aaron Rodgers enjoys on the outside, especially when working with back-shoulder targets. Adams brings a strong body type similar to ex-Packer James Jones, but what he lacks in pure height, he could make up for with his vertical. Adams recorded a 39.5-inch vertical jump at the 2014 NFL Combine, and makes for an intriguing red zone option. Rodgers will certainly need one to emerge.

Fantasy football players, meaning everyone, will now be shooting Adams up their draft boards, and rightfully so. His offseason headlines had often seen Adams’ left out of the first eight rounds only due to his limited opportunity for targets in Green Bay, but given these developments, he immediately becomes an intriguing, albeit somewhat unproven, fantasy option.

Building from within has long been the Packers’ philosophy under Ted Thompson, and it’s time to put that strategy under the microscope with a young player who may, or may not, be ready to shine in a leading role. A big season from Adams could create an even more dominant receiving corps in 2016, but for the season ahead, Rodgers’ weapons have lost a whole lot of certainty. Keep in mind, though, that at one point in their careers, Cobb and Nelson were both unproven young commodities.

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