Life after Davante Adams’ departure from the Packers is something the Green Bay coaches, players and fans are all presently living. After 8 years in Wisconsin, Davante Adams is taking his talents to Nevada to play with the Raiders. Certainly on pace for a special Gold Jacket reserved for football’s elite of elite, the loss of Adams, given the sudden nature of the news, is stunning. Where the Packers go from here, on an Aaron Rodgers led, all-in Super Bowl approach, is a fascinating topic of conversation.

I don’t feel the need to over emphasize the special talent of a player like Davante because everyone is aware of it. The Packers tried to keep their 2 Time All Pro receiver and offered more money than Las Vegas did to keep him in Green Bay. However, in the end, Adams preferred to be traded and play with his college QB and best friend, Derek Carr.

The loss of Adams didn’t come without some amount of gain for the Packers. They collected Vegas’ 1st and 2nd round picks in the upcoming NFL draft and significantly improved their precarious financial situation by not having to pay him. Adams quickly signed a 5 year, 141mm deal with the Raiders, making him the highest paid WR in the league. Now, the Packers are left with 4 receivers on their active roster, whom are Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Juwann Winfree and Amari Rodgers.

Outside Receiver

This is very, very intriguing and has to be GM Brian Gutekunst’s top priority. With the absence of Adams in the Packers offense, Green Bay doesn’t have a player who can consistently win on their routes. Even if the Packers end up re-signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling, which I believe they should do, he is not someone you can depend on as your #1. Nor is Allen Lazard. In another “All in” type of year for the Packers, where it’s Super Bowl or bust, they need to make more waves.

The Packers have the possibility of adding a free agent or trading for a WR. Free Agent options include players like Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones, while there have been murmurs (simply rumors and twitter gossip) of Green Bay landing a player like DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Robert Woods or Keenan Allen via trade.

The Packers may also want to draft a premium WR early in the draft, like Ohio State’s Chris Olave or Georgia’s George Pickens. While they may do that, it would be a massive surprise if that was the only move Green Bay made to address the WR position. For a “win now” team, banking on a rookie WR for immediate, crucial production with zero additional free agent signings or trade acquisitions would be a senseless gamble. While nothing is impossible, I don’t believe the Packers are intent on doing that.

Inside Receiver

The Packers already have two slot receivers on the team. One of them is Packers legend Randall Cobb, who’s going into his 12th NFL season. A favorite of the fans, as well as Aaron Rodgers, it’s hard to envision him not on the Packers in 2022, given the recent trade of Adams as well as Cobb restructuring his contract a few days ago.

All that said, it would be nice for the Packers to target a more productive player who could be higher impact player than Cobb. Someone like Jarvis Landry would be my top choice, while Cole Beasley would be my #2. Unfortunately, the current dynamics of the Packers slot WR position is flat out weird and I don’t see it changing this year. Amari Rodgers, Green Bay’s other pure slot WR on the roster, was a 3rd round pick from Clemson last season and the Packers surely aren’t ready to give up on him.

Other Receiving Options

Aaron Jones is a good receiver for a running back and AJ Dillon did a fine job catching the ball last season too. Both players will be in the fold for 2022. Another question to think about is if the Packers will now make a strong push to re-sign TE Robert Tonyan with the additional money they now have. Tonyan is a free agent and is rehabbing a torn ACL.

As Aaron Rodgers would say, where the Packers go from here is a beautiful mystery.

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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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