Sorting through the rubble of the Packers-Raiders Davante Adams trade
Can we get a do-over of the Davante Adams trade?
In the offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders acquired the two-time All-Pro wide receiver from the Green Bay Packers. Through eight weeks, the deal has produced nothing but losers: the Packers, Raiders and fans.
No one expected the Packers offense to be better without Adams, but Aaron Rodgers is a shell of his MVP form. The team expected Rodgers to lift his young receivers, but he has spent more time tearing them down.
Green Bay (3-5) has all but played itself out of contention for a division title. The lack of chemistry — and talent — at receiver is obvious. Rodgers’ most targeted receiver, rookie Romeo Doubs, has 30 catches for 296 yards. The Packers rank 26th in scoring (18.1) and 22nd in passing (217.4). Rodgers’ average yards per game (225) and QBR (38.2) are the lowest of his career as a starter.
It hasn’t gone any better for Adams, per this tweet from Josh Dubow of the Associated Press:
The Raiders added Adams to keep pace with the Kansas City Chiefs. After a wild-card appearance a season ago, Las Vegas pushed all its chips to the center of the table for 2022. The Raiders, too, have played themselves out of contention for a division crown.
Las Vegas (2-5) is averaging 225.3 passing yards, 7.9 yards more than Green Bay. Quarterback Derek Carr is averaging his fewest passing yards per game since his rookie season. In the team’s most recent loss, Adams had one catch for three yards. It was his worst game since Week 3 of 2015 against Kansas City.
Per Pro Football Focus, from 2018-2021, Rodgers’ (89.3) and Adams’ (90.1) player grade averages were far better than either’s this season. Rodgers has a grade of 77.9; Adams’ grade is 76.7.
Neither the Raiders nor the Packers look close to contending for the playoffs. As the losses mount, the trade will only look worse.
As Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith has argued, the trade showed both front offices miscalculated where each stood.
Then there’s the added sting of the other high-profile wide receiver trades from the offseason paying huge dividends. The Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles both made deals for big-name receivers.
Miami’s Tyreek Hill (90.9) and Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown (90) grade as the best and third-best receivers in the NFL, per PFF. The Dolphins (5-3) are in the thick of the AFC wild-card race, and the Eagles (7-0) are the league’s last unbeaten team.
Overall, scoring is down in the NFL from last season. The Raiders and Packers are partially to blame. That makes fans losers, too.
Perhaps Shannon Sharpe described the struggles of the Packers and Raiders best on Fox Sports’ “Undisputed.”
At least Paul McCartney had the Wings.
Thanks to this lame trade, Green Bay and Las Vegas aren’t getting off the ground.
