Fantasy Reaction: Davante Adams Traded to the Raiders
This off-season has been crazy with all of the blockbuster trades and moving pieces throughout the NFL, and it just got even crazier. In a shocking turn of events, Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers will no longer be teaming up in Green Bay. Instead, Adams will be reuniting with his old college quarterback, Derek Carr, in Las Vegas. Adams had publicly stated that he would love to play with Carr, and now he gets his wish.
The official trade has the Raiders receiving Davante Adams for a First and Second-round pick in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. Adams will be signing a 5-year, $141.25 million deal with the Raiders to become the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.
Trade compensation, per league sources:
Packers are getting back 2022 first- and second-round picks in return for Davante Adams.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 18, 2022
Davante Adams Stats
Adams has been dominant in his role with Green Bay, leading the NFL in targets (614), receptions (432), yards (5,310), and touchdowns (47) since 2018. Of course, this has translated into being one of the most dominant fantasy assets. Adams has been at the top in fantasy production for a long time, finishing as a top-3 wide receiver in three of the last four years in PPR scoring.
| Games | Receptions | Yards | TDs | PPR Finish | |
| 2021 | 16 | 123 | 1,553 | 11 | 2 |
| 2020 | 14 | 115 | 1,374 | 18 | 1 |
| 2019 | 12 | 83 | 997 | 5 | 23 |
| 2018 | 15 | 111 | 1,386 | 13 | 3 |
| 2017 | 14 | 74 | 885 | 10 | 14 |
| 2016 | 16 | 75 | 997 | 12 | 10 |
| 2015 | 13 | 50 | 483 | 1 | 66 |
| 2014 | 16 | 38 | 446 | 3 | 74 |
| Career | 116 | 669 | 8,121 | 73 | – |
While Adams’ production in 2022 may take a hit, he does have a small track record of great production even without Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball. As mentioned by Jeff Greenwood last year in his article “Why You Should Trade For Davante Adams in Dynasty,” Adams’ commanded a 41% target share in the last five games of 2017, with Brett Hundley at quarterback, and averaged 6.4 receptions, 85 yards, and .8 touchdowns.
Dynamic Duo is Split Up
Davante Adams has 68 career touchdown receptions from Aaron Rodgers. Had Adams re-signed with the Packers and teamed up with Rodgers for the next few years; they may have had a great opportunity to climb the list of all-time touchdowns between a quarterback and wide receiver. This tweet was from late in the 2021 NFL season on December 5th, 2021. Adams and Rodgers were one of the most special duos in NFL history, and it’s sad to see it come to an end. Watching them play was a thing of beauty.
Most TDs by QB-Receiver duo in NFL History
Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison 112
Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski 90+
Philip Rivers to Antonio Gates 89
Steve Young to Jerry Rice 85 pic.twitter.com/JXK1wj1iqu— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 5, 2021
2022 Outlook – Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders have been longing for a true number one wide receiver for a long, long time. Hunter Renfrow hit 1,000 receiving yards last season, and that was the first time a wide receiver hit that mark for the Raiders since 2016 when Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree did it. Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards did not work out, and the Raiders now get a true WR1 for their team to add to Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller.
Darren Waller and Davante Adams are elite receiving options that will command a large target share in 2022. Adding Adams shouldn’t downgrade Waller’s fantasy production too much, and it may help to have a big-time threat out wide. Both Adams and Waller should be considered elite fantasy assets at their position next season. Hunter Renfrow likely takes the biggest hit. He was a go-to option for Derek Carr last season, and he will likely still be relevant, but he will probably be hard to trust in fantasy lineups in 2022. Now that he has a great set of weapons, Derek Carr gets an obvious bump. With all of the AFC West adding talent, there is a real chance that these games will be great for fantasy as the teams try to keep up with each other six times a year.
2022 Outlook – Packers
Aaron Rodgers made headlines with his new contract extension with the Packers just days ago, which will pay him a reported $150.8 million over the next three years. After this contract was official, most assumed that Davante Adams would be next because there is no way that Aaron Rodgers would sign a deal without his favorite target. Little did we know that Rodgers knew all along. According to Ian Rapaport, Rodgers knew Adams would no longer be with the Packers.
While Aaron Rodgers was negotating his contract, he knew Davante Adams would never play for the #Packers again. The situation was too far gone. Something had to give. And when Adams informed GB he wasn’t playing on the tag, talks got fired up. Now, Adams will be on the #Raiders. https://t.co/YTAxHov0Rj
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2022
The Packers now have a massive hole at wide receiver going into the 2022 season. Several free agent wide receivers made their decisions, so there aren’t many options left. Hopefully, the Packers will choose to get Rodgers a weapon in the First Round of the NFL Draft for the first time. They now have two first-round picks (Picks 22 and 28) to get a rookie wide receiver to help out the team.
Whoever the leading receiver is for Green Bay will likely be a great asset for fantasy, but right now, it is anybody’s guess who that might be. Aaron Jones, Allen Lazard, and Randall Cobb all look to have their roles increased. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is also a free agent, so he may not be back. Robert Tonyan is also a free agent. He may be an interesting flyer if he comes back as he isn’t too far removed from an 11 touchdown season and TE4 finish in 2020.
There is still a ton of time, so the chances that the Packers do something to address the position are really high, but it is not looking exciting for the 2022 season.