It was a rumor that once was taken seriously, but after many consecutive years of the same discussion, it began devolving into nothing more than a pipe dream. Davante Adams linking back up with his college quarterback Derek Carr as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Sure, Carr wanted nothing more than to see that happen, and Adams himself had dreams of one day suiting up for the Silver and Black. But these sentiments were made clear for years without anything ever coming of it.
Davante Adams coming to the Raiders was just an unrealistic hope Raider Nation kept in the back of their heads.
Until, it became reality.
On March 17th of the 2022 offseason, Las Vegas shocked the NFL-world by acquiring Adams from the Green Bay Packers at the cost of a first- and second-round draft pick in the upcoming draft. A trade that both fans and media members described as a franchise-defining move for the Raiders.
And it was. Just, not in the way that was originally thought.
Now paired with Carr, Adams wasted little time getting to work. During the NFL’s ’22 season, which marked Adams’ first year with the Raiders, the Fresno State alum totaled 1,516 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns, the latter which tied for most league-wide.
That’s the end of the good. The conclusion of the 2022 season marked the start of a nose-dive that neither Adams nor the Raiders were never able to recover from.
Davante Adams joins the Las Vegas Raiders: Acquiring a superstar goes wrong
There’s a large part of Raider Nation that has a bad taste in their mouth following the short-lived Davante Adams era. It’s understandable, too. After the conclusion of the ’22 season, Las Vegas’ superstar wideout simply wasn’t the same, even after notching a 1,000-yard campaign in 2023.
Beyond dropping a multitude of passes right in the bread basket, Adams seemed to put his foot on the brake during specific plays. He then gave up on the Raiders altogether in 2024, requesting a fresh start on a new club.
But here’s the harsh truth: Not much of this was Adams’ fault.
Sure, the three-time first-team All-Pro took big steps backwards during both his ’23 and ’24 campaigns in Sin City, but it truly is not Adams’ fault why the original trade with Green Bay was a disaster. Instead, the bulk of blame can be thrown on the then-Raiders regime of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler for dealing premium assets for a 29-year-old wideout to complete a core that lasted for one season before blowing everything up.
As I once said, giving up on the vision that McDaniels and Ziegler traded a first- and second-round pick for after only 15 weeks was a fireable offense in itself. As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the then-regime found themselves out of a job in Sin City less than halfway through the next season.
A plan that ended before it began
The plan was simple: acquire Adams to pair with Carr, Darren Waller, and the other talented weapons in Sin City. But after a mere four months of watching these guys together, McDaniels and Ziegler decided to end this experiment before it ever truly began.
Carr was benched after 15 contests, and Waller, who signed an extension with the Raiders that offseason, was shipped to the New York Giants before his extension in Las Vegas even began.
McDaniels and Ziegler can take solace in Waller losing his passion for the sport after being shipped across the country and retiring. But in truth, it was nothing more than a panic move. A move that was made in response to a long-term vision not bearing fruit in only four months. Fortunately, the team was able to add Jakobi Meyers following the Waller trade, making the move much easier to swallow.
While Meyers gave the Darren Waller panic trade a happy ending, what happened post-Derek Carr did nothing of the short.
First, the then-Raiders regime replaced Carr with Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, in addition to fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell. With Adams, Meyers and Josh Jacobs in the backfield to take pressure off of the passing game, Garoppolo was responsible for seven passing touchdowns and nine interceptions through six starts. Week 8 of the 2023 season marked Garoppolo’s last start in the National Football League.
Similarly, Brian Hoyer was given the nod to start in Week 7 of the same season. This would wind up being the last start of his NFL career, tossing two interceptions with zero touchdowns.
Gardner Minshew was added to Sin City’s roster this past season to give Adams a new quarterback moving forward. New quarterback, same results; through 10 contests, Minshew threw nine touchdowns while totaling 10 interceptions.
That doesn’t mean Davante Adams is without blame..
..but, it is hard to put all, or even most, of the blame on Adams’ shoulders alone. The multi-time Pro Bowler was the victim of a team making a trade without an actual vision. That stands true even with the Raiders being the team Adams wished to go to.
Still, that doesn’t change the fact Adams’ play quickly went downhill following his first year in Las Vegas.
In 2023, Adams tied with Tyreek Hill for the second-most drops in the NFL (9) via Pro Football Focus. Normally, this might not be much of a big deal considering Hill was at the top of his game. But that’s just it–Hill was at the top of his game, while Adams was not.
While the two All-Pro wideouts both had nine drops, their seasons were very different. Hill finished his ’23 campaign with 16 more catches than Adams. The Dolphins superstar also totaled more than 650 receiving yards than Adams, in addition to fix more touchdowns.
With 1,144 receiving yards, Adams just barely managed to crack the top-15 in this category. His 103 receptions also allowed him to sneak into the list of 11 players who totaled 100-plus catches.
While Jakobi Meyers caught 11 tight-window passes his way for a 52.4% catch percentage on such receptions, Adams caught 12 for a 35.3% catch percentage.
Sure, these numbers are fine for most players around the NFL. But not for a player of Davante Adams’ stature, who entered the ’23 season as an unquestioned top-five receiver. On that note, 2023 welcomed Adams’ worst yards per reception, yards per game, and receptions per game marks since the 2017 season. Even his eight touchdowns were a low for his standard; a number Meyers tied on 32 less catches.
Once again, the Las Vegas Raiders are in need of receiver help
It’s funny how quick things can change, isn’t it? Less than one calendar year ago, wide receiver seemed to be perhaps the biggest strength of the Las Vegas Raiders. Adams and Meyers were the teams starting wideouts, the electric Tre Tucker was the slot guy, and Michael Gallup gave Sin City reliable depth out-wide.
Fast forward three weeks into the 2024 NFL season, Gallup is retired, Tucker isn’t showing many signs of progression, and Adams is ready to move onto the next chapter of his career.
And with the Raiders electing not to tender D.J. Turner, Las Vegas’ receiving corps is nothing short of a complete mess. The same state it was in entering the ’22 offseason, where McDaniels and Ziegler added Adams to the roster.
Luckily, there’s an abundance of receiver talent available this offseason. Chris Godwin is a well-decorated player who has strong ties to both Spytek and Tom Brady. D.K. Metcalf is a potentially available wideout with a strong connection to Sin City’s head coach Pete Carroll. Even Amari Cooper has ties with the Raiders, suiting up for Oakland from ’15-’18.
As far as the draft goes, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka just won a National Championship in Chip Kelly’s offense. The same Chip Kelly who is currently the offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders.
There’s plenty of options for Sin City here with no shortage of players who have ties to the organization. It’s possible Carroll and Spytek elect to add more than one of the aforementioned receivers to the team this offseason.
Don’t forget about Tyler Lockett, either, who’s set to hit the open market once free agency starts. Lockett spent nine seasons with Pete Carroll in Seattle. The 32-year-old has missed only two contests throughout his 10-year career.
*Top Photo: Benjamin Hager/ LVRJ
Free Agency: Keep An Eye On Las Vegas Raiders, Chris Godwin Pairing