The Rams have had a mixed history when adding veteran wide receivers. They once hit a major long-term homerun when they signed Robert Woods, had a brutal whiff in Allen Robinson and had a super successful rental season with Odell Beckham Jr. Davante Adams is their latest dip into these waters.
The veteran receiver reportedly landed a two-year, $46 million deal from the Rams. I completely understand the logic in adding Adams to this wide receiver room.
He brings them much more man coverage-beating ability than Cooper Kupp does at this stage of their respective careers. He’s also a candidate to hold down the X-receiver position, which allows them to move Puka Nacua around the formation. That was critical for whoever the Rams would add at wideout this offseason. While Adams is inarguably a player in the middle of a decline, his Reception Perception charting last season looked like a guy who can still perform as a strong starting outside receiver. He’s just not the same player he was at his Hall of Fame peak. For this team, that’s totally fine.
Adams also has some inside/out versatility, as he lined up in the slot on 45.4% of his snaps last season, so Nacua will get plenty of run outside but I expect the third-year receiver to lead this room in slot snaps. Nacua was targeted on a whopping 38% of his routes last season, giving him a significant lead over any other NFL receiver, and that deployment will keep those numbers high.
The Rams also retained field-stretcher Tutu Atwell as the likely WR3. His primary role will be to open things up in the short and intermediate area for Nacua and Adams.
Fantasy fallout
Matthew Stafford can feed two wide receivers at a high clip. Adding Adams doesn’t make me move Nacua out of the top-five at his position and he’s still a locked-in first round pick. Meanwhile, Adams will likely find his way into the top four rounds of drafts this summer. Aging receivers always come with some risk but there’s plenty of reasons to think Adams works out.
