If Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams can find efficiency and consistency he could be just what the team needs to win a title.
When the news broke that Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson was going to miss the entire 2015 season with a knee injury, Packers fans and coaches alike immediately began speculating about who would replace the injured superstar in the team’s offense. Many eyes turned toward the direction of Davante Adams, who was coming off of a promising rookie season with 446 yards and 3 touchdowns.
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It came as a disappointment to many, then, when Adams did not step into the huge shoes left by Jordy Nelson last season. Those who expected the second-year receiver to generate Jordy-esque numbers were probably a bit foolish, but it is still fairly discouraging that he was unable to even match the production he had in his rookie season the year before.
Not the least of those disappointed were the Packers themselves. Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy believes that Adams has what it takes to be successful, he just needs to take another step:
"“He has it in his body, he has it in his heart and I look for him to come back in better shape than ever,” McCarthy said of Adams (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky) Work ethic and everything needs to go, the understanding of the position, understanding as far as the relationship with the quarterback. I look for him to take that next step and I have all the confidence that he will.”"
It’s not just Adams that needs to take another step though, but the entire Green Bay football team. Despite being led by arguably the league’s best quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have made it past the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs only one time since 2010. Davante Adams finally taking the leap to become a highly efficient target will go a long way towards bringing the Packers another Lombardi Trophy.
Last season Adams was the team’s fourth leading receiver with 483 yards, despite seeing only five fewer targets than James Jones, who managed to catch 890 yards worth of passes. Adams caught only 53% of the passes thrown his way. He dropped ten passes in only 13 games, good for over 10% of his targets. Last season after a loss to the Bears Mike McCarthy was clear how he felt about Adams’ performance:
"Didn’t have a very good day today,” McCarthy said when asked about Adams’ drops (via Vic Ketchum of Packers.com). “The consistency we’re getting in certain areas needs to pick up.”"
McCarthy has thrown a lot of shade Adams’ way, and it can only be because he believes that the receiver has what it takes to be effective. Sadly, even when he caught the ball last season he wasn’t able to do much with it, averaging just 9.7 yards per reception and scoring only once.
When he’s on though, he can be a huge weapon. In his rookie season Adams had a dominant performance against the New England Patriots in which he caught six passes for 121 yards en route to a Packers victory that was key to the team’s Division Title that year. He also managed 93 yards and a two-pt conversion in a close lose to the Super Bowl-bound Carolina Panthers last season. Clearly he can be a game changer if he’s efficient, but that’s a big if.
Adams’ size and athleticism are everything you could ask for in a No. 2 or No. 3 wide receiver, and with Jordy Nelson coming back this season that’s just what he’ll be. Once again Adams will be typically matched up with opposing No. 2 or No. 3 cornerbacks and will almost never see coverage from the other team’s best player, which will give him the opportunity to really emerge.
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Watching Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb in 2014 was almost like a circus, because you never knew which guy was going to have a crazy stat line next. Now those players are back together and Adams has what it takes to make it a three-ring circus if he can find the concentration and consistency. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers hope he can do that in 2016.