News
10/15/24
8 min read
Davante Adams Trade Will Help Jets Offense, But Won't Solve Every Problem
The New York Jets are all in on the 2024 season with a Davante Adams trade.
On Tuesday, the Jets finally agreed to a trade to acquire the superstar receiver. The trade involves a conditional third-round pick that could become a second-round pick sent to the Las Vegas Raiders. For the pick to become a second, Adams must be first- or second-team AP All-Pro or on the active roster for the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl.
It's a move that reunites Adams with superstar QB Aaron Rodgers. The two were the most dominant QB-WR duo in the league during Rodgers' back-to-back MVP run with the Green Bay Packers, and they'll have a chance to recreate some of that magic in New York.
Adams Was Made For New York
Adams might be the best fit for the Jets in the entire league.
Heading into 2024, Adams had still been finding plenty of success despite a revolving door of quarterbacks in Las Vegas. He finished the 2023 season with 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns, sitting near the top of the league in all receiving categories.
However, when he had more reliable quarterback play between Rodgers and Derek Carr, Adams was firmly established as a top-three wide receiver in the NFL. From 2020 to 2022, he was second in the NFL in receiving yards (4,443), tied for first in receptions (338), and first in receiving touchdowns (43). The next closest receiver in touchdowns was Mike Evans with 33.
It wasn't just the aggregate numbers over that span but Adams's efficiency as a route runner that stood out. According to TruMedia, he led the entire NFL in that three-year span with 2.72 yards per route run, a full 0.09 yards ahead of Justin Jefferson.
There simply wasn't another receiver on the planet doing what Adams was doing.
Things weren't going nearly as well after the Raiders parted ways with Carr. Adams averaged below 2.0 yards per route run in 2023 — the first time since 2017 — and his efficiency had plummeted this season down to 1.66 yards per route run.
Now, Adams will return to a familiar offensive scheme that he ran in Green Bay. Along with Rodgers under center, Adams will return to working with former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Even though he's been demoted from playcalling duties, the structure of Hackett's offensive scheme is still intact.
Meanwhile, Rodgers and Adams have maintained a close friendship after parting ways following the 2021 season. The two were famous for being on the same page during their final few seasons in Green Bay, and Rodgers even admitted that Adams was the No. 1 read on more than 80 percent of their plays in their final season together.
That kind of target share isn't realistic in New York, given Garrett Wilson, the other star receiver, is still on the roster. However, having a similar playbook and terminology to their time in Green Bay should allow Adams to quickly get acclimated and allow the two to make pre-snap adjustments to get Adams open and give him the ball.
Adams has been waiting to be considered a superstar-caliber receiver again, and a reunion with Rodgers should allow him to get back on track.
The End of The Garrett Wilson-WR1 Era?
Fantasy owners who have Wilson won't be thrilled with another superstar receiver coming to New York. However, the former first-round pick should still play a key role in the Jets offense.
Wilson's target share will almost certainly see a sharp drop-off. Rodgers has started force feed his No. 1 receiver in the last two games, targeting him 33 times for 21 catches, 208 yards, and two touchdowns. His 67 targets are the most that any player has been targeted in the NFL this season by a wide margin, while he has the sixth-highest target share among wide receivers.
On the more positive side, Adams' arrival should take a lot of the pressure and focus off of Wilson. Opposing defenses have been keying on Wilson through the first six weeks, and it's hurt his ability to get open despite his talent. According to Next Gen Stats, Wilson ranks outside of the top 50 with an average separation of 3.2 yards per target.
Less attention on Wilson will mean fewer instances of safeties waiting for Rodgers to find his No. 1 target while trying to take his head off.
Garrett Wilson -
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) October 15, 2024
Hospital ball. Helpful that we had 3 different angles to see GW get crunched.
My guess is he’ll return at some point. pic.twitter.com/aQ1Enpahtc
Wilson's aggregate numbers likely won't be as impressive, but the efficiency and quality of opportunities should improve. Earlier this month, Wilson stated that he would be in favor of the Jets making a move for Adams.
“Yeah, that’d be cool, man,” Wilson told reporters. “I feel like it’s cool if we can get him over here. Like I always say, ‘If someone can help us win, let’s do it.’ Right on.”
Wilson has never averaged more than 1.86 yards per route run, according to TruMedia, despite all of the targets he gets every season. Taking some of the pressure off of him with an Adams trade could allow the third-year wideout to become a much more efficient playmaker.
Jets' OL Is Still Concerning
A trade like this is exciting, but there are still concerns about the offensive line.
The Jets spent the offseason trying to overhaul their offensive line completely. Along with parting ways with Mekhi Becton and slotting in Alijah Vera-Tucker for a more permanent role at guard, general manager Joe Douglas made moves for established veterans Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, and John Simpson.
Unfortunately, none of those decisions are panning out. Becton is having a bounce-back year playing guard for the Philadelphia Eagles, allowing 10 pressures so far after allowing a career-high 50 and 12 sacks with the Jets in 2023.
Meanwhile, the new-look Jets offensive line is struggling to keep Rodgers clean in the pocket. He's been sacked 16 times through six games, tied for the sixth-most sacks this season. According to Pro Football Focus, he's also been sacked on 25.4 percent of his pressures, which is the sixth-highest rate in the league.
A big part of that sack rate is Rodgers's declining mobility. At 40 years old, he doesn't have the same athleticism when escaping the pocket, which means that he needs to get the ball out faster than he's used to.
However, Rodgers is doing his job when it comes to getting the ball out quickly. His time to throw of 2.54 seconds is the fastest of his career, yet he's on pace for his highest pressure-to-sack ratio since 2009 with the Green Bay Packers.
The rest of the offensive line deserves some blame, but LT Tyron Smith should be drawing more criticism than anyone.
Smith is one of the best tackles of the last decade. He had five All-Pro selections and eight Pro Bowl appearances with the Dallas Cowboys. He doesn't look remotely like the same player at 33 years old with the Jets.
Smith has already allowed five sacks and 16 pressures through six games. Those five sacks are already the most he's allowed in a full season since 2015, and he's on pace to shatter his career-high mark in pressures with 43 back in 2012.
Plays like the one below are happening too frequently for a former All-Pro.
Nik Bonitto (#15) winning against Tyron Smith and a little feign from Cody Barton (#55) collapse the pocket quickly pic.twitter.com/qjckSAoPNi
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 30, 2024
New York's run game also needs to find some kind of a spark, and that starts up front. The Jets rank 30th with 87.2 rushing yards per game and 28th with 3.9 yards per carry. FTN Fantasy has the Jets as the 31st rushing offense by DVOA.
Many of those rushing issues are caused by the inability to create rushing lanes for a talented backfield that includes Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. Per TruMedia, the Jets rank 31st with just 0.84 yards before contact generated per rushing attempt. Meanwhile, they rank 11th with 3.06 yards after contact.
The good news is that the Jets tried to be more creative with the run game on Monday night and had some success. They ran for 121 yards while averaging a strong 5.8 yards per carry. Still, too many runs get stuffed due to missed assignments from the offensive line.
Tyron Smith LMAOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/R79Hn9cCFc
— 🏆🥇 (@fsh733) October 15, 2024
For a team that poured so many resources into its offensive line, the Jets aren't getting enough out of the unit to find consistent offensive success.
