There it is. Davante Adams is now the Green Bay Packers’ No. 1 receiver.
The coaching staff hasn’t said. None of the players have said it. We’re saying it because it has become apparent.
There are really two things that make Adams’ ascendence clear.
First, it’s the trust quarterback Aaron Rodgers has in Adams. We can’t say Rodgers always looks to Adams first, but he definitely looks to him often. Plus, he’ll throw Adams balls he won’t throw to other guys. See that dime he dropped into the end zone to Adams against Philadelphia as Exhibit A.
Second, you simply can’t ignore the statistics.
Adams has 58 receptions for 778 yards (13.4 ypc) and eight touchdowns on the season. The yardage and yards per catch lead the Packers. The receptions are three short of Jordy Nelson’s team-leading 61 and the touchdowns are one short of Nelson’s team-leading nine.
While I’m sure there are some of you out there who would like to argue that Jordy is still the Packers’ No. 1, the season statistics don’t tell the best part of the story.
Over the past six games, Adams has racked up 43 of his catches, 558 yards and five of his touchdowns. While Jordy has been up and down all season, Adams has been on an upward trajectory. Over this six-game span, Adams is first in the league in catches, second in yards and second in receiving touchdowns. In yardage, he’s just 13 yards behind Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans. He’s also a single touchdown behind Evans in the same span.
Adams has three 100-yard games, two games of at least 10 receptions and two multi-touchdown games in that span.
That’s not just No. 1 receiver territory, it’s I’m-one-of-the-best-receivers-in-the-league territory.
And yes, I know what some of you are waiting for. We have torn Davante Adams apart on numerous occasions. We did so because he deserved it. He was nothing short of awful in 2015. He started 2016 much the same way he played the season prior.
That’s the thing. When you play like shit, you get criticized around here, regardless of who you are. But if you reverse that and start playing well, we are happy to say so because frankly, all we care about are the fortunes of the Green Bay Packers. If you’re going to bolster those fortunes, then you can be our boy any day.
Davante Adams has turned it around. He has literally gone from arguably the worst starting receiver in the NFL to one of the best since last season ended.
We’d love to see him keep up this progression.
As Shawn pointed out earlier this week, the Packers’ offense simply works better when they have a true No. 1 receiver. That guy is now Davante Adams. He’s the guy who opens things up for Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.
Take a look at who covers those last two guys when the Packers play. You’re going to see the opposition’s No. 2 and 3 cornerbacks.