Las Vegas Raiders Trade for WR Davante Adams

NFL Offseason – Yesterday, the Las Vegas Raiders made a huge addition to their defense with the free-agent signing of Chandler Jones. Today they made a big splash on offense, sending two draft picks to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for wide receiver Davante Adams.

Adams, who doesn’t turn 30 until December, has made five straight Pro Bowls and been named a first-team All-Pro in each of the last two seasons. He set career highs last season with 123 catches for 1,553 yards … and that may have been a step down from his 2020 campaign, when he led the NFL with 18 touchdown grabs and added 1,374 yards in only 14 games. He was second in DYAR last season after finishing first in 2020, and has ranked 16th or higher five times in the last six seasons. However, his contract expired this month, and the Packers named him as their franchise player to ensure he could not sign somewhere else. Adams responded by informing the team he would not be playing without a new contract, but now that’s not going to be a problem.

Terms of the trade have yet to be disclosed. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Packers will receive “two prime 2022 picks.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says that Las Vegas will lose “a first-round pick, potentially more picks, and a player.”

UPDATE:

Full trade terms …

Raiders get: WR Davante Adams.

Packers get: 2022 first- and second-round picks (22nd and 53rd overall).

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 18, 2022

Rapoport also has reports on the new deal Davante Adams will get: five years, $141.3 million. That will certainly help Adams pay his mortgage—he reportedly bought a $12-million mansion in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.

The addition of Adams gives the Raiders one of the deeper sets of weapons in the league. Hunter Renfrow, last year’s top wideout, bumps down to No. 2, where he should get to exploit easier matchups as a top possession receiver. Bryan Edwards (16.8-yard average on 34 catches last season) is the designated deep threat. At tight end, while Darren Waller’s DYAR and DVOA slipped last season (he had finished first in both categories in 2019 and third in 2020), he was still fifth at the position with 60.5 yards per game. They are also deep at running back, with free-agent addition Brandon Bolden joining incumbents Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake. That’s quite the arsenal Derek Carr will have to work with. Speaking of Carr, we should point out that he’s familiar with Adams: they played college football together for two seasons at Fresno State. Adams’ numbers in those two seasons: 26 games, 233 catches, 3,031 yards, 38 touchdowns.

As for Green Bay … hoo, that’s complicated. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had reportedly contemplated retirement and a possible move to Denver before accepting a three-year deal worth over $150 million to stay with the Packers. Rapoport reports that Rodgers signed his deal (and yes, he has signed the deal) knowing that Adams would be gone. Now, though, with Adams joining Equanimeous St. Brown (who signed with the Bears earlier today) on the ex-Packers wide receivers list, the top Green Bay wideouts under contract include Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, and 2021 third-rounder Amari Rodgers. Marquez Valdes-Scantling remains unsigned; one would think that his price tag just went up a notch.

Davante Adams Overall Impact: The AFC West arms race keeps getting scarier and scarier. Following the Jones signing, Mike Tanier wrote that the Raiders were still a fourth-place team in their own division. Now? Well, one of these powerhouses has to finish in last place, but trying to predict who that will be (or who will finish in first, for that matter) is a fool’s errand.

Davante Adams Fantasy Impact: Adams was already WR1 or very close to it, and that shouldn’t change, especially not in PPR formats. Carr’s draft value goes up, but Renfrow and Waller’s likely go down. No matter how successful your offense is, there’s still only one football, and Adams figures to soak up a lot of catches that would have otherwise gone to his new teammates.