The Las Vegas Raiders, in one of the bigger moves of the NFL offseason, acquired Davanted Adams. The former Green Bay Packer was a mainstay in Aaron Rodgers' passing core for several years. So far in Vegas, the passing game between quarterback Derek Carr and Adams has not been efficient.
Adams is among the league leaders in targets at 24. But the wide receiver only has 12 catches so far this season for a low completion rate of just 50%. He isn't in the Top Ten for receiving through two games and you have to wonder if the union between him and Carr is lacking in chemistry.
Last week, the Carr-to-Adams attempts were particularly poor: Adams had just two catches on 7 attempts for a piddly 12 yards. Those are not anywhere near the numbers that we have come to expect for Adams over the course of his distinguished career.
Poor performances under the radar?
So far, the headlines have not been overly cruel to this quarterback-receiver combination. Adams always draws a lot of attention his way from opposing defenses. In Week 2, according to one writer, the "loaded coverage neutralized the All-Pro wideout (two catches, 12 yards)" (September 20th; Bucky Brooks of NFL.com).
It's easy to say that the season is only two games old. Writers that are overly critical after a small sample are often labeled as overreacting. But if Adams is drawing so much attention, as of yet it has not led to a significant uptick for the other offensive players.
Davante Adams' last two-catch game was a while ago
But when has a two-catch game ever been the standard for Adams? You have to go back to the 2017 season to find a precedent. In a game that Brett Hundley quarterbacked for GB, Adams went 2 for 5 for 12 yards. The Week 2 game this season was 2 for 7 for the same yardage, meaning the Raiders lost loads of downs when they went Adams' way.
Rodgers to Adams was a match made in heaven. Carr to Adams? So far Hundley to Adams is a better combination.
The situation in Las Vegas is actually looking bad but the silver lining is a weak schedule for the next two weeks. The Raiders are 0-2 but they have the stumbling Tennessee Titans and the inept-thus-far Denver Broncos coming up in the next two weeks. Anything but 2-2 should be unacceptable for this Vegas club that still has a win total of 7.5 with bet365 sportsbook.
