Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams is quietly going about his business and is having another fantastic season in 2021. The 28 year old player from Fresno State, already in his 8th NFL season, has reached heights so high that his greatness barely makes blips on the radar anymore.
Sure, Adams is recognized amongst the NFL’s best at WR, if not “thee” best player at the position. Yet, we’ve reached the point where Adams eliteness is simply the new status quo. Similar to all great players like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and others, Davante Adams more often than not just makes the game of football look easy while playing at the highest level possible.
In the Packers 12 games this season, Adams has played in all but one (Arizona Cardinals). 10 out of those games were with Aaron Rodgers at QB while the Kansas City Chiefs game was with Jordan Love at QB. Through 11 games thus far with 5 games to go, Adams currently boasts a stat line of 80 receptions for 1,083 Yards and 5 Touchdowns. At his current pace, he is projected to finish the 2021 regular season with 116 catches, 1,575 Yards and 7 TD’s.
Adams, who turns 29 on Christmas Eve, is pacing to surpass his previous career high in total receiving yards in a single season (1,386). The projected 1,575 yards he’s on track for puts him in rare air, with players like Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Jerry Rice and several others. The NFL’s all-time season receiving yards list includes many current and future hall-of-famers.
Back on October 10th in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Adams set a career high in receiving yards in a single game. During that contest, Adams recorded 11 receptions for 206 yards and a touchdown, helping the Packers secure a win. In a more recent game against the Vikings, Adams posted a nonchalant line of 7 catches for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns, many of his plays being extremely impactful.
Currently, as the Packers star WR is in the prime of his career, a 7 or 8 reception game for 100+ yards is the new normal. The early days of Adams in 2014 and 2015, outlined by flashes of greatness with a frustrating amount of inconsistency and drops, is long in the rearview mirror.
Adams has always believed in himself. Even when Davante was a rookie in 2014, Aaron Rodgers noticed something different about the then 21 year old player than he did with others, citing an approach and demeanor of greatness. Certainly, that kind of self-belief paired with an immense work-ethic and love of the game has led Adams to where he’s at now, at the top of the NFL and one of Aaron Rodgers’ favorite teammates of all-time.
“He is a phenomenal player. He is as good as they come. I wouldn’t want to throw to anybody else,” Rodgers said, via Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. “I have so much love and respect for him as a person — how he carries himself, his demeanor, his competitiveness, his focus, the plays that he makes on the field, the way that he communicates with me, the respect that he shows me, the respect that he earns from myself and our team every single day. He is one of a kind. Very unique player, unique person, and I am so thankful to have him on our squad. I have his back 100 percent in everything that he does and says. He’s a man of his word, he’s a man of high integrity and high class. And I’m better because of him — as a person and as a quarterback.”
The Packers will have an interesting decision to make with Adams at the end of the 2021 season as he is set to become a free agent. Make no mistake, Green Bay would love to keep their high character, star WR in Titletown but like many things in life, it will come down to money. The Packers are already in a precarious situation when it comes to the salary cap and a move like retaining Adams would tie up money to allocate to other players and needs on the team.
Until that day and time comes, what we need to do is consistently appreciate and enjoy the greatness that is Davante Adams over the remainder of the 2021 season.
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Alex grew up in a family of Chicago Bears fans in the suburbs of Chicago but was always a Packers guy. Alex\'s AIM name when he was in elementary/middle school was PackerAlex. He now lives in Nashville, Tennessee and you can follow him on twitter at @Alex_Mayer93.
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