Jets look to spice up offense with addition of Davante Adams
Wide receiver Davante Adams #17 of the Las Vegas Raiders and wide receiver Garrett Wilson #17 of the New York Jets talk on the field after the Raiders' 16-12 victory over the Jets at Allegiant Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets hope their offense, with the addition of Davante Adams, will be cooking.
Adams has been a prolific playmaker throughout his career. The Jets already had rising young stars Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson who need to get their touches. It will be up to offensive play-caller Todd Downing and signal caller Aaron Rodgers to make sure everyone gets fed.
“As a chef, you would want a bunch of ingredients,” Downing said Thursday. “You wouldn’t want to stand in the kitchen and be looking for something in the cupboard. It’s a good problem to have that we have all those really cool ingredients.”
The Jets were expected to have an explosive offense. It certainly hasn’t materialized yet. They rank 22nd, averaging 18.8 points per game.
The addition of Adams could be the spark that ignites the offense and Rodgers, who hasn’t had a 300-yard passing game since Dec. 12, 2021. His leading receiver that day was Adams with 10 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands,” Downing said. “So finding ways to get him the football is going to be fun to do.”
Adams, who missed his final three games with the Raiders because of a hamstring issue, will play Sunday in Pittsburgh when the Jets (2-4) try to snap their three-game losing streak. How much Adams plays and the kind of impact he can have remains to be seen, but Downing has been impressed by how quickly he is acclimating to everything.
“What I’ve seen of him thus far, nothing would surprise me,” Downing said.
Adams is probably a few steps ahead of most players who are traded to a team in-season because of his relationship with Rodgers. They played eight seasons together — a total of 108 games — with Green Bay. Adams knows the offense the Jets are running and what the quarterback wants.
“I have a lot of confidence I’ll be able to have success in this offense, regardless of the situation because I’m going to put the work in,” Adams said.
Rodgers said they have to get Adams up to speed on the different verbiage, signals and route concepts. That process began in Rodgers’ home Tuesday night. That’s where Adams is staying for the time being.
“He’s certainly ahead of the curve,” Downing said. “Being able to do the Spanish-to-English with Aaron I think is something that is really going to benefit him. They can even go back to old signals that they had together to help remind them of things. They have that connection and that chemistry.
“It’s his work ethic and the way he’s dove right into the playbook but also the room, his communication with Garrett. That’s the stuff that makes me think he can succeed quickly.”
It still will be a challenge to make sure the ball is spread around to all of the Jets’ playmakers. In Monday’s loss to Buffalo, Hall rushed for more than 100 yards and Wilson had more than 100 yards receiving for the first time in the same game. Allen Lazard also had more than 100 receiving yards.
Adams will cut into that because he’s a superstar who Rodgers trusts more than anyone and will certainly look to involve him.
“You add somebody with the resume that Davante, has it’s another mouth to feed so to speak,” Downing said. “That’s the challenge for a coaching staff. You have all these very talented weapons now it’s figuring out how you’re going to make sure that everybody feels their piece of the pie.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
