Davante Adams Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Adams finished 12th among WRs in PPR points per game last season — 13th in half-PPR and non-PPR — despite an early-season injury and midseason trade.

Of course, that wasn’t your average trade.

Adams did join an offense that already sported WR Garrett Wilson. But he also rejoined QB Aaron Rodgers, his Green Bay teammate from 2014 through 2021.

Adams fired off a WR5 finish in Week 2 with the Raiders. But he sandwiched that between WR37 and WR52 performances. Vegas swapped him to the Jets after three games lost to a hamstring injury (allegedly).

The veteran opened his Jets stint with WR51 and WR46 finishes. But Adams landed outside the top 35 just one other time among his final nine games. He finished six weeks among the top 18, including four top-9 rankings

Usage & Role

Adams likely would have led Raiders targets had he stuck in Vegas. Instead, he went to the Jets and out-targeted Wilson over their shared time. In fact, his target share from Week 7 on (after the trade) ranked fourth among all WRs. (Wilson checked in 29th.)

Adams spent a career-high share of his pass snaps in the slot last year: 46.4%, according to Pro Football Focus. That marked a rise of nearly 30 percentage points vs. 2023 and 12.8 percentage points more than his previous high (in 2020 with the Packers).

That especially picked up after he joined the Jets, who ran Adams from the slot 52.1% of the time. That nearly doubled his 28.4% over the three Raiders games. And perhaps it gave the Rams ideas for a Cooper Kupp replacement.

Efficiency Metrics

Adams’ aDOT dipped with the move. According to PFF, his 8.7-yard average target depth matched his career low from 2020 (that previous high season for slot usage).

His 2.04 yards per route tied for 27th among 106 WRs who drew 40+ targets. Getting out of Vegas helped. He fell from four straight seasons of 2.45+ to just 1.97 in 2023 and then 1.66 over the first three weeks of last season.

That 1.66 would have ranked just 49th for the season. Adams’ 2.16 with the Jets, on the other hand, would have checked in 22nd.

Adams did tally a career-low 45.6% receiving success rate, according to Pro Football Reference.

Historical Production & Trends

You might’ve heard that Adams has been pretty productive for a pretty long time.

His No. 6 ranking among WRs in target share last season (adjusted for games missed) actually marked a downturn. Adams ranked first or second in that category each of the previous five seasons. And he checked in third the year before that.

Those seven consecutive seasons of top-6 rankings spanned three teams.

And he proved pretty good at scoring fantasy points with all those opportunities. Here are Adams’ annual ranks in PPR points per game among WRs, dating back to the first season he reached 100 targets:

• 2024 -- 12th
• 2023 -- 17th
• 2022 – 6th
• 2021 -- 2nd
• 2020 -- 1st
• 2019 -- 5th
• 2018 -- 1st
• 2017 -- 9th
• 2016 -- 12th

Injury History

Adams lost those three games to hamstring trouble last year. That marked the first time he sat out with an injury since 2020. The only other lost game in the meantime was one for a positive COVID test back in 2021.

So there’s no reason to worry about the old man’s health.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

Adams presents the biggest challenge that WR Puka Nacua will have seen across his first three years in the league. Nacua presents a similar challenge for Adams.

The new old guy did join a Jets offense last year that had thrown Garrett Wilson the league’s seventh-largest target share in 2023, and Adams beat Wilson in target share over their shared time. But that wasn’t your typical arrival. Adams joined the QB he had previously spent eight seasons with in Green Bay.

This new offense has put Nacua and Matthew Stafford together for two years, each of which included the young wideout leading the team in targets per game.

But Adams should position as the clear No. 2 WR. We’ll see exactly where the Rams align him, whether Adams continues running more from the slot than he did earlier in his career.

Supporting Cast

The Rams did extend WR Tutu Atwell for a year at $10 million just ahead of free agency, a move that preceded Adams’ arrival. That move looked interesting at first, but a guy with 99 total receptions through four NFL seasons doesn’t stand much chance against a couple of target hogs.

Adams gets another established veteran QB, and Stafford’s probably at a similar level heading into his age-37 season as the 41-year-old Rodgers.

Stafford’s 7.6 yards per pass attempt over his four Rams seasons beats both of Rodgers’ past two healthy years. Same for his 65.7% completion rate. And his 4.6% TD rate comes close to Rodgers’ 4.8% for each of those years.

One key question, though, will be the backfield and the run-pass split.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

HC Sean McVay has tended to rank middle of the league or just below in pass rate. Five of his eight years have found the Rams passing on less than 57% of offensive plays. But just four of his teams have ranked higher in rushing attempts than passing attempts.

L.A. appeared to want to throw the ball more after picking up Stafford in 2021, though. That team and the next year’s ranked second and third, respectively, among McVay’s eight seasons in pass rate. And 2022 included Stafford losing half the season to injury.

The investment in a 32-year-old Adams at least signals the Rams believe he can upgrade the passing offense vs. last year’s. If that proves true, don’t be surprised if more passing volume arrives.