Multiple seasons have come and gone with the prevailing storyline of whether Aaron Rodgers' Hall of Fame career is drifting away with the Packers unable to cash in on his otherworldly talent.
However, in that same time span, wide receiver Davante Adams has almost quietly been outstanding. For all the calls to help Rodgers with more receiving help, Adams has been a one-man band of pass-catching production and has obviously received no help, either.
Since 2016 when Adams delivered a breakout season, he has been the Packers' most productive receiver and a deeper look via NFL Research shows how he has led the Pack receiving corps by massive margins and along the way has become one of the league's preeminent wideouts.
Following a pair of seasons in which he asserted himself as the No. 3 receiver behind Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson and then Cobb and James Jones, Adams burst onto the scene as Rodgers' new No. 1 in 2016 with team-highs of 75 receptions, 997 yard and 12 touchdowns.
Over the last four seasons, Adams has tallied the most touchdown catches in all the NFL with 40, per NFL Research. The 27-year-old former second-round pick out of Fresno State is one of seven wide receivers to have made the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.
Adams, who in an interesting and albeit random note has twice had seasons in which he finished with 997 yards receiving, has three Pro Bowl selections to his credit. His 2015 rookie year was one in which Nelson and Cobb each went to the Pro Bowl. Since then, Adams is the only Packers receiver who has made the all-star trip, as he stands as the team's lone legitimate threat on the outside.
He has led the Pack in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in each season since 2017, including last year, when all his team-leading numbers (83 catches for 997 yards and five TD grabs) came despite missing four games with turf toe.
And though he spotted his teammates four games, he still finished well ahead of the field as his 127 targets were 59 more than Aaron Jones' 68, his 83 catches were 34 more than Jones' 49 and his 997 yards were 520 more than Allen Lazard's 477.
Per NFL Research, only the divorced pairing of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown (36 touchdown connections) have more touchdown combinations since 2016 than Rogers to Adams, which stands at 35.
The numbers emphasize the chemistry between Rodgers and Adams. However, the statistics also show how little help Adams has received, which is a nod to his talent and further example of the area of need that has remained as constant for Green Bay as frigid winters.
The Packers, who haven't drafted a wide receiver in the first round since the George W. Bush administration, were one of 10 teams who did not select a wideout in the 2020 NFL Draft, per NFL Research. Signing veteran Devin Funchess, who missed nearly the entire 2019 season, is the only notable addition for the Pack in the receiving ranks. Even with the addition of Funchess, a five-year veteran, Adams' 44 career touchdown catches are 14 more than the rest of his fellow Packers wide receivers combined, according to NFL Research.
Currently, it looks as if Adams will lead a receiving corps that also includes Lazard, Funchess, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown, Jake Kumerow, Darrius Shepherd, Reggie Begelton, Malik Taylor and Darrell Stewart Jr. There are some unfamiliar names, some very long names and some potential, but as of now there is no history of production.
The storyline remains as to whether the Packers will find more options for Rodgers and therefore the quandary remains as to whether Green Bay can find some help for Adams, who's thus far stood out as the Packers' only outstanding option and one of the very best in the NFL.
