“This Offense Has a Ton of Potential”: Adams and Raiders Putting in Work

As the NFL offseason continues to be gripped by drama and intrigue at seemingly every turn, it’s possible that the Raiders’ acquisition of All-Pro WR Davante Adams early in the offseason process has become old news. But with rosters around the league filled out for the most part, it’s possible that Adams’ move to the Raiders offense could have the biggest impact on the league when all is said and done.

Since 2018, Adams has led the NFL in receiving yards, receiving yards per game, catches, targets, and receiving touchdowns, per Statmuse. As well as his impressive longevity, Adams remained at the top of his game in 2021, ranking as the second-highest graded wide receiver by PFF by only a fraction behind Super Bowl MVP and fellow All-Pro WR Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams.

“This offense has a ton of potential,” Adams said during his media availability following Thursday’s practice. “We’ve got players all over that have made plays and have done a great job and been doing it for a long time now. But the potential is nothing until you put the work in and we’ve still got a long way to go.”

Despite Adams joining only his second team in his nine-year career, let alone a team that has a new coaching staff installing a new offensive system, Adams is miles ahead of where any usual veteran would be after being traded due to his relationship with QB Derek Carr. As many are well aware, Adams and Carr played college football together at Fresno State, but their working relationship didn’t stop when the pair entered the league.

“We were working out together for the first six years of our NFL careers anyway,” Adams said about renewing his relationship with Carr. “We lived right down the street from each other… We were throwing probably three times a week for five, six years. We had about a two year gap when the team moved out here (to Las Vegas).”

“We basically picked up where we left off. We both are so committed and obsessive over our craft to where, even today, I messed something up at the end of practice, just a subtle thing, and we go back out there after… That’s the way we did it before. If he didn’t like a ball he threw in a period, he’d have me go stand in the spot that I would’ve been catching the ball and then he’d fire it until he liked how he threw it. Which is usually one more pass.”

With Adams joining his good friend on the Raiders offense, and likely the only quarterback alive with a familiarity with Adams that could rival that of Packers MVP QB Aaron Rodgers, Adams and Carr are poised to lead a high-powered offense in 2022.

The Raiders wrapped up mandatory minicamp Thursday, will conclude voluntary OTAs on June 13-14, and will open training camp roughly six weeks from then.