Aaron Rodgers: 'This is just the beginning' for WR Davante Adams
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The first three post-bye games from Davante Adams left something to be desired. As the Green Bay Packers' No. 3 wide receiver, he's needed to contribute at a fairly high level.
While the Packers' offense cruised along in blowout home wins over Chicago and Philadelphia, followed by a road win over Minnesota, Adams wasn't doing a lot to help. He had his two lowest statistical outputs since Week 1, finishing with just one catch for 10 yards against both the Bears and Vikings. Including his two-catch, 13-yard performance Week 11 facing the Eagles, that was a grand total of four receptions for 33 yards after the bye week.
But when Green Bay really needed him to step up against a deep, talented New England Patriots secondary, Adams delivered the breakout game of his rookie season. Not that Adams feels comfortable using the term "breakout" when it comes in Week 13.
"It's a little late for a breakout, I guess," Adams said. "But, well, in my book, I feel like I could have or should have had an early run of the season. But better late than never."
Adams had a season-high 121 receiving yards (far surpassing his previous best of 77 yards) on six catches. The 11 times Adams was targeted by Aaron Rodgers were more than the previous three games combined.
"He ran some excellent routes throughout the game, whether he was guarded by (Logan) Ryan or by (Alfonzo) Dennard or by Brandon Browner," Rodgers said. "He ran some really good routes on the outside, made some good catches."
Jordy Nelson credited Adams' early success with being the sole reason for the Patriots having to adjust their coverage by the time the Packers' offense lined up for their fourth drive. Despite Nelson and Randall Cobb combining for zero yards at that stage of the game, Green Bay had 13 points on the board thanks in large part to Adams already having 90 receiving yards.
That's how critical Adams can be to the Packers' passing game.
"The moment we're able to do that and have high-quality guys out there, it forces defenses to bring their second, third, fourth DB (defensive back) out there, and that's when we feel like we match up well," Nelson said. "So we put defenses in situations where they're not used to playing, and that's what we've been able to do in the past with how deep we've been at receiver.
"We're not quite as deep this year, but we'll get there in the next couple of years when these young guys develop. It's huge for us because you're able to move people around, put Randall in the backfield like we did last week, so it just allows us to do more things."
Adams is the key to that. Teams know what Nelson can do as the receiver who ranks seventh in the NFL in yards and is tied for second in touchdowns. Teams know what Cobb can do as the slot option who is tied for second with Nelson in touchdowns and is 13th in yards.
Adams, still only 21 years old, won't remain a relative unknown for much longer.
"Everybody is excited about his potential, as this is just the beginning," Rodgers said. "He's laying the foundation for his career this season. He's going to be a big-time player for us."
It's not like there weren't bright moments from Adams in the first half of the season. After only playing nine snaps Week 1 as the No. 4 receiver on Green Bay's depth chart, he overtook Jarrett Boykin for good by Week 4. Adams has played between 70 and 90 percent of the offensive snaps in all but two of the past nine games. He had his first touchdown in Week 5 and followed it up with six catches for 77 yards a week later at Miami. Two weeks after that in New Orleans, Adams had seven receptions for 75 yards.
"I had some pretty solid games, but I was more worried about just contributing and my feeling comfortable and everything," Adams said. "As we get more and more comfortable moving forward, things like this happen. Aaron has that trust in me. Coaching staff, as well."
It wasn't all positive for Adams, though. Running what Rodgers described as "his best route of the night," Adams dropped a slant pass at the goal line that would have been a sure touchdown. It didn't end up hurting the Packers in the standings, but it kept the door open temporarily for a New England comeback as Green Bay had to settle for a field goal and a five-point lead.
Nelson and Cobb "had fun" with Adams about that drop as the three ran off the field after the game, trying to encourage the rookie to not let it bother him.
"For the game that he had, he needs to enjoy that and make sure he can build off that and build off that with good and bad plays, not just the only bad play he had," Nelson said.
Adams summarized by saying, "I didn't catch it. I had to get over it."
While it's other rookie receivers like Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins, Odell Beckham and Kelvin Benjamin getting most of the attention league-wide, none of those four are likely playoff-bound with their respective teams. But now that Adams has his first 100-yard game -- and crucial, potentially game-changing drop -- behind him, how he responds from this point will have a bigger impact on the season than anything else those other rookie receivers do.
"It wasn't so much just reaching 100 yards," Adams said. "That's great and it looks good on paper. But the most important thing is contributing and knowing where I stand in this offense."
If it wasn't clear before the Packers' win over the Patriots, it's perfectly clear now where Adams stands in the offense and how important he is to it.
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