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I happened, it finally happened: Davante Adams is officially a member of the New York Jets.
All the speculation came true, all the mock trades are in the past, and now, fans of Gang Green can focus on the future, including how Adams will fit on a Jets team coming off three-straight losses over two different head coaching regimes.
Discussing how Adams will interact with Aaron Rodgers and his new teammate, Garrett Wilson, former Packers wide receiver James Jones explained to The Faculty how he thinks the two wide receivers will co-exist and who will serve as the Jets' number one target moving forward.
“D.A. is the number one, but as a coach, we haven't forgot about you #5. We're going to make sure that we get you involved in this game, but we've got another dude that's like that, too. Because, in my humble opinion, D.A. is making that touchdown catch, and it's a whole different game,” Jones explained. “D.A. is definitely looking back earlier in that Minnesota Vikings game for that back shoulder. It's different type plays because Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. This is big time right here, and I think it's at the right time because your season is not over. This division is going to come down to the wire.”
On paper, having two premier wide receivers on the same team is a very good strategy, with plenty of the top teams in the NFL, from the Philadelphia Eagles, to the Miami Dolphins, and the San Francisco 49ers all using the strategy to exceptional effect when fully healthy. How Rodgers and his offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, decide to distribute the targets will largely come down to comfortability and the flow of the game, as opposed to designating one player, a WR1 or a WR2.
Garrett Wilson has never had a Jets teammate like Davante Adams
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While Wilson immediately hit the ground running and played like a premier wide receiver upon being drafted in the first round by the Jets, much of that came down to necessity.
Yes, Wilson is an incredibly skilled player, who checks pretty much any box a team could ask for in a premier wide receiver, but as a rookie, he had 82 more targets than the Jets' number two wide receiver, Elijah Moore. And in 2023? In 2023, that number was even more lopsided, with Wilson being targeted 168 times versus Allen Lazard's 49, good for a 119 target difference.
Goodness, in 2023, Breece Hall was targeted 95 times as a receiver, which is still 46 more times than Lazard was targeted.
With Adams now in place, the Jets should finally be able to field a more complementary offensive attack, with two wide receivers capable of earning double-digit targets per game while Lazard and Hall settle into more complementary roles in the passing game. Factor in Rodgers, who has experience throwing passes to all five men, and who knows, maybe the Jets really will put it all together down the stretch and become a certified playoff team if everyone can rapidly get on the same page.
