Davante Adams was the Green Bay Packers leading receiver against Detroit. He caught 10 balls for 79 yards.
That first statistic is pretty nice. That second one is only nice if you achieved it on half as many receptions. In reality, Adams averaged a pathetic 7.9 yards per reception and that puts him in DickRodge territory.
What’s more, Adams was targeted 21 times.
Were all 21 of those balls ones he should have caught? No, but a lot more than 10 of them were.
Our boy Steffen has been all over this and yesterday, Football Outsiders put together a piece demonstrating just how bad Adams was against the Lions.
The problem is, it doesn’t appear to just be a one-game issue.
Adams was supposed to break out this year. That hasn’t happened and it now seems clear it isn’t going to happen. The Packers drafted Adams in the second round, thinking he’d be a future star. He might be a nice third receiver, but he’s shown nothing to suggest he’ll be a star.
He’s not fast, he can’t separate from coverage, he can’t win the jump ball and he doesn’t even appear to be a great route runner or pass catcher.
Adams looks like a lesser version of a young James Jones.
Against Detroit, the Packers went to Adams so much because he was supposedly being covered by a bunch of schlubs. With starter Rashean Mathis out, the Lions were covering Adams with a couple guys named Nevin Lawson and Crezdon Butler.
Who are they again?
Exactly.
Yet, Adams couldn’t consistently win those one-on-one match-ups and when he did, he often couldn’t make the catch.
Take a look at these clips, again, courtesy of Football Outsiders.
Example one: Adams doesn’t have the speed to catch up to the pass (or separate from the defender to begin with).
Example two: A perfectly placed pass and Adams can’t track the ball and make the catch.
Example three: A poorly run route, where he can’t get any separation from the corner, then makes a flailing, falling attempt to catch the pass.
Example four: Perfectly thrown ball — Aaron Rodgers threw Adams open because he wasn’t — and he still can’t make the play.
What you’re seeing here is a receiver who not only lacks speed and athleticism, but isn’t even very good at the fundamentals.
The guy can’t track the ball or catch it half the time and his route running leaves a lot to be desired.
We now know Adams isn’t going be a fast or athletic receiver. He isn’t going to be Jordy Nelson. Maybe he can get better at the other aspects of the game, but he’s below average at this point.