Davante Adams enjoyed a bit of a bounce back in his age-31 season, finishing as WR12 per game in PPR with 85 catches, 1,063 yards and 8 touchdowns in 14 games. The soon-to-be free agent will be on his third team in four seasons after the Jets released Adams Tuesday. He’ll hit free agency. The Jets also intend to part ways with Aaron Rodgers, freeing Adams and Rodgers up to continue their football bromance with a new franchise. Buyer Beware! Wide receivers often decline significantly at age 32, just as DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen did in 2024. We’ve also seen Julio Jones, A.J. Green and Antonio Brown show significant decline at age 32.
Having said that, Adams could be the top free agent wide receiver in this lackluster class, and if he pairs up with Rodgers he could once again see more than 10 targets per game as he did in 11 games with the Jets.
What are the top destinations for Adams? Well, here are the things we DON’T want for Adams:
1.) A run-heavy offense
2.) Multiple major target earners (Arizona or Minnesota, for example)
3.) A bad quarterback
Here are three destinations for Adams. One of them will be with Aaron Rodgers while the others will be without Rodgers.
The Patriots have the most cap space in the NFL and a glaring need at wide receiver. Mike Vrabel had a run-heavy offense in Tennessee, but he had Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry instead of Drake Maye and Rhamondre Stevenson. Maye is the face and future of the franchise and giving him a future Hall of Famer at WR makes sense. I don’t see Adams as a deep threat anymore, so he needs a quarterback who is accurate in short-area and intermediate throws. Maye led all qualified quarterbacks with a 74.2% completion rate on passes of 6-12 air yards. I could see 150+ targets and a Top 20 finish for Adams in New England.
This team desperately needs a #1 WR and everyone loves a good reunion! While I don’t see a path to 150 or more targets with the Packers, I do see bounceback potential for Jordan Love and a reliably good offense that has been Top 11 in scoring in five of Matt LaFleur’s six seasons as head coach. Yes, Green Bay had the third-lowest pass rate in the NFL in 2024, but that is not the norm for LaFleur. Adding Adams would add pass attempts. He would lead the team in targets and be their best red zone option as Adams has averaged 26 red zone targets per year over his last five seasons. I could see a Top 24 finish for Adams in Green Bay, but not Top 12
This one would be with Aaron Rodgers and I’ll add it to the list because the Giants have been linked to Rodgers and their current regime needs to win now to avoid the hot seat. This scenario would probably knock Malik Nabers to the middle or end of Round 2. Last season, Garrett Wilson was WR26 per game after the Adams trade while Adams was WR9 per game. Adams had 27 more targets than Wilson in that span. Nabers would of course still be ahead of Adams, but a Rodgers/Nabers/Adams trio wouldn’t be so bad for Fantasy. You’d have Nabers as a Top 12 WR, Adams around WR24 and Rodgers as a streamer. Of course, once Cam Ward takes over, that’s probably it for Adams.
All of these scenarios with Adams finishing as a Top 24 WR seem like a best-case scenario. I’m very fearful of WRs at age 32, but there is still the possibility for Adams to have a very productive season and be a solid pick in Round 5 or 6 of a 12-team league.
