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Davante Adams fantasy outlook: Where veteran lands on Jets WR depth chart

jacob camenker
·5 min read

The New York Jets have emerged the winners of the Davante Adams sweepstakes.

The Jets are trading a conditional third-round pick to the Raiders in exchange for the veteran receiver, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The deal reunites Adams with his former Green Bay Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers, with whom he enjoyed two All-Pro seasons over an eight-year span.

Adams will be tasked with helping the Jets improve after a 2-4 start to the season. Their offense enjoyed a solid showing under new play-caller Todd Downing in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, but it still wasn't enough to earn a victory.

Adams' chemistry with Rodgers and familiarity with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett should allow him to quickly assimilate into the Jets offense. But what will the 32-year-old's role be in New York? Here's what to know about the veteran receiver's fit with the Jets.

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Davante Adams fit with the Jets

Adams will likely slot in as the Jets' No. 1 receiver once he gets up to speed on New York's offense and playbook. He has a built-in chemistry with Rodgers from their eight years together with the Packers and should resume his role as the 40-year-old quarterback's favorite target.

Adams and Rodgers were a prolific tandem during their final four years together with the Packers. Adams averaged 129 catches, 1,584 yards and 14 touchdowns per 17 games played and was named an All-Pro twice in that span. The last year of their partnership was in 2021, but Adams has maintained a high level of play with the Raiders, averaging 102 catches, 1,318 yards and 11 touchdowns per 17 games played.

That should give Jets fans hopes that Adams can be the same type of player in New York, or at least a similar one.

The only potential hang-up with Adams' status as the Jets' top target is the presence of Garrett Wilson. The 10th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft leads the team in targets (67), catches (41) and yards (399) so far and has scored three times.

That said, having Adams and Wilson together may prove beneficial for the Jets. Rodgers noted after the first three games of the Jets' season that "the entire focus of all three defenses we've played has been taking Garrett away." With Adams in tow, teams won't be able to focus on Wilson exclusively, which should allow both Adams and Wilson more space in which to operate.

So, while both may see their target shares decrease slightly – especially Wilson's 30.9 percent share through six weeks – they may ultimately end up being more efficient. They may end up being a 1A (Adams) and 1B (Wilson) receiver set up, and that should help New York's offense to score more consistently.

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The receivers hurt the most by Adams' addition are Allen Lazard and Mike Williams. Lazard operated as the Jets' No. 2 receiver to begin the season but will now be pushed into a tertiary role. He will still be a touchdown threat – he has five through six games – but he figures to cede a chunk of his 6.7 targets per game to Adams.

Meanwhile, Williams will likely be relegated to backup duty until he can get on the same page as Rodgers. The duo have struggled to connect early in their time together, and Williams notably ran a different route than Rodgers was expecting on the quarterback's interception in Week 6 against the Bills.

Jets WR depth chart

The Jets now have seven receivers on their 53-man roster. Here's a look at the expected pecking order among the group:

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Davante Adams fantasy outlook

Fantasy owners who have held onto Adams amid his trade saga with the Raiders have to be happy with its end result. Adams is going to a team that needed a top-two receiver and is going to one of the only NFL quarterbacks with whom he has a built-in chemistry.

Adams played well in his three games for the Raiders during the 2024 NFL season, averaging six catches for 69.7 yards per game. He only scored one touchdown, but that was playing in an offense that was starting Gardner Minshew at quarterback and Zamir White at running back. He'll be with a more explosive duo of Rodgers and Breece Hall in New York.

As long as Adams is recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Raiders' last three games, he should be able to hit the ground running with the Jets. He is now on a team that is averaging 37.5 passing attempts per game (third-most in the NFL) so he should have the volume of targets needed to maintain top-25 production at wide receiver.

In truth, Adams' potential is even higher than that. After all, he scored 69 touchdowns on 622 receptions from Rodgers during their time together in Green Bay. If he continues to score on 11.1 percent of his catches, he could end up being a top-10 fantasy receiver.

Either way, Adams looks like he'll become a must-start across all fantasy formats. It may be wise to sit him in Week 7 as he returns from injury and gets back in sync with Rodgers against a challenging Pittsburgh Steelers defense, but after that, it'll be full speed ahead on the Adams-Rodgers connection.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jets WR depth chart: Is Davante Adams or Garrett Wilson WR1?