Davante Adams Fantasy News and Statistics

The Green Bay Packers had high hopes for Davante Adams, who is a former second-round pick. He was supposed to join Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb in a bid to make Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense unstoppable. But Adams was a disappointment for two seasons before blossoming in his third. Now, Adams may finally reach the level Green Bay fans had hoped.

A California native, Adams signed with Fresno State in 2011 and was redshirted. It wouldn’t take him long to make an impact as a redshirt freshman, though. With Derek Carr at quarterback, he caught 102 passes for 1,312 yards and 14 touchdowns. Adams ranked ninth in the FBS in receiving yards, ahead of future first-round picks like Mike Evans and Brandin Cooks. He and Marqise Lee tied for third in touchdowns behind Stedman Bailey and DeAndre Hopkins. Fresno State would go on to get blown out by SMU, 43-10, in the Hawaii Bowl. However, Adams caught 13 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown and was named co-MVP of the game.

His second and final year at Fresno State would be his best. Carr returned as Adams’ quarterback and led the FBS in yards (5,082) and touchdowns (50). Adams was Carr’s top target and led the FBS with 24 touchdowns. Cooks was second with 16. Adams also led the FBS in receptions (131) and picked up 1,718 yards. He was named second-team All-American, won the Paul Warfield Trophy and is Fresno State’s all-time leading receiver despite playing only two years. Though Adams had plenty of individual accolades, Fresno State fell to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, 45-20.

Adams decided to forego his final two years of eligibility and entered the 2014 NFL Draft. Despite his incredible production, there were worries that he was a product of Fresno State’s system and was not athletic enough to be a top receiver. Nevertheless, the Packers chose him No. 58 overall. He was the ninth receiver selected after Sammy Watkins, Evans, Odell Beckham, Cooks, Kelvin Benjamin, Lee, Jordan Matthews and Paul Richardson.

Adams didn’t make much of an impact as a rookie, catching just 38 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns. He managed to catch six passes for 121 yards with a dropped touchdown pass in Green Bay’s Week 13 win over the 9-2 Patriots. He also led the Packers in receiving yards with 117 in their infamous win over the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round. Otherwise, he rarely made an impact.

And 2015 was arguably worse. Nelson tore his ACL in the preseason, meaning additional targets and playing time for Adams. However, he struggled with ankle injuries and missed three games. He did not have more than 93 yards in a contest and caught only one touchdown pass all season. He ended the year with 50 receptions for 483 yards.

His breakout came in 2016, though. He had career highs in receptions (75) and yards (997), but it was the touchdowns that put him on the map. Adams caught 12 scoring passes, which put him in a three-way tie with Antonio Brown and Evans for second in the league. A surprising figure for sure considering he only had four in his two previous seasons combined.

Adams has likely leapfrogged Cobb as Green Bay’s No. 2 receiver behind Nelson. Though Adams is a one-hit wonder at this point, he has the quarterback and situation to improve on 2016’s career year.