This isn’t a dream, Raider Nation. Davante Adams is officially a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, as he agrees to a five-year deal with the Silver and Black.
In life, there are times when we must make choices that dictate the path we walk for years to come. Decisions that completely change the trajectory of our future, and allow more (or less) doors to open; Life-altering decisions.
The Las Vegas Raiders made one of these future-changing decisions, as they agree to a deal with Green Bay, reuniting Derek Carr with the best receiver in all of football.
This is not just simply a trade. This is a move that completely changes the landscape in Vegas, with the high probability to recreate that winning culture on the Raiders’ shoulders for years when Al Davis famously coined the phrase, “Commitment to excellence”.
The Las Vegas Raiders now have the potential to be a Super-Bowl contender.
For the last handful of years, the most popular answer to “who’s the best receiver in the NFL?” has been none other than Davante Adams. Numbers can be misleading, this much has always been true. However, when you’re able to put up 1,374 yards while crossing the plane 18 times in only 14 contests, is there anything else to say?
There’s a reason why Adams is a current back-to-back first-team All-Pro, after all. There’s also a reason why the Las Vegas Raiders made him the highest-paid receiver in league history.
It’s hard to imagine the Green Bay Packers trade Adams if they don’t have to, right? Correct. Let’s take a look at how the deal went down.
We’ve heard the rumors for years now. How has it all of a sudden come to pass?
Reuniting with college teammate Derek Carr is something Adams has publicly expressed interest in for some time now. Truth be told, it’s been talked about for so long that it almost started to feel like a pipe dream. Even as recent as this off-season, it continued to stray away from the realm of reality.
When Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers signed his three-year extension this off-season, it sounded almost certain Davante Adams was returning as well. After all, before signing his contract, Rodgers stated wherever he lands, he would want Adams to be beside him. As the Packers continued to make cap space, they eventually cleared enough money to offer him the same contract Las Vegas did.
Adams would reject Green Bay’s offer, forcing a trade to the one destination he welcomed.
Behind closed doors, this trade was in the works for a while. As it turned out, when Rodgers signed his extension, he did so knowing Davante Adams would not play another down of football for the Packers. The relationship between Adams and the organization was silently deteriorating, eventually reaching an unrepairable state.
On the Raiders’ side, what makes this such a shock is the willingness of Las Vegas to target both Chark and Robinson. The Raiders negotiated with Chark on the first day of legal tampering, and later with Allen Robinson until he was signed mid-day yesterday. In the meanwhile, the front office was putting together a deal for Davante Adams, even while trying to sign other quality wideouts.
One has to assume this means the Raiders aren’t done with adding receiving talent, likely doing so in the 2022 NFL draft.
It cannot be understated how culture-shifting this move is. Adams brings an enormous amount of talent, and the resume to back it up. Claiming the Raiders’ new receiver is going to change the direction of this team is easy, so let’s go beyond that; Let’s explain how.
How does Davante Adams help change things for the Raiders?
If you’ve paid attention to the Raiders when they’ve hit the red-zone within these past few years, you’ve probably felt emotions that can be best described as angry, disappointed and confused.
Over the last two years, the Las Vegas Raiders have found themselves in the bottom-10 in red-zone touchdown percentage. Even when they were out of the bottom-10 in both ’19 and ’18, the Raiders were just one spot higher, coming in at no.22 in each of these two years. To find a year where they were higher than no.22, you’d have to go all the way back to 2017.
In 2021, while Raiders were struggling to get anything to work in the red-zone, Davante Adams was feasting. Adams found the end-zone 10 times on 18 catches, consistently besting whichever poor soul the opposing defensive coordinator stuck on him.
Take it back one season, and it gets even more impressive. Not only did Adams lead the league in overall TD’s during his ’20 campaign, but he also lead the NFL in the red-zone variety, ending the season with 14. In case the point isn’t being made clear, you’d have to go back all the way to 2007 just to find a pass-catcher who snagged 14 scores in the red-zone through the air.
It isn’t just the pass red-zone offense the Raiders struggled with, nor is it only red-zone offense Adams excels at.
With Henry Ruggs still on the team, the Raiders posted at least 300 passing yards in 5 out of their 7 contests. After the tragic accident, Las Vegas got up to 300 yards through the air just one time in the remaining ten games.
Most of Raider Nation had time to notice the drastic decrease in passing efficiency without Ruggs. Davante Adams on the other hand didn’t have time, as he was too busy racking up 100+ receiving yards in 5 of his last 9 contests.
Not only was Adams as reliable as ever down the stretch, but he was still able to put up huge numbers when the field-spreader Marquez Valdes-Scantling was out. In the five-games Adams played without “MVS”, he was able to post 64,76, 89, 114 and an unreal 206 yards through the air. Doing it without his supporting cast is no problem for the All-Pro, unlike it was for the ’21 Raiders’ receivers.
Another problem virtually every pass-catcher on the ’21 Raiders’ roster had was consistency. For Adams, inconsistent isn’t in his vocabulary. You’d have to go back to week-3 of the 2020 season to find a game where the newest Raider didn’t post at least 40 yards receiving.
Adams brings a red-zone presence and know-how in unfortunate circumstances that the Raiders haven’t had on the outside for years. Combine that with his elite level of consistency, and you get the best wideout in the NFL, who now has Derek Carr tossing him the rock once more.
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