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The Jets have acquired wide receiver Davante Adams. We break down the fantasy implications for Adams, the Jets, and the Raiders.
The Las Vegas Raiders have traded disgruntled wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, per multiple reports. The move ends Adams’ 2+ seasons in Las Vegas and reunites him with his old Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
The trade has numerous fantasy football implications for both the Jets and the Raiders. We’ll break them all down.
Davante Adams fantasy football implications
Rodgers has been a bit hit or miss through the first six weeks of the season, but he represents an upgrade for Adams at the quarterback position. Prior to sitting the past three weeks with a hamstring injury, Adams had been catching passes from Gardner Minshew and likely would have eventually returned to catch passes from Aidan O’Connell.
Rodgers is better than both of those quarterbacks, and of course Adams has history with the Jets QB. It might take some time to get on the same page after their time apart, but it brings upside for Adams.
The bigger question is how much this hamstring injury was a bit of a hold-in rather than an actual injury. The Jets will return to practice on Wednesday as they begin preparations for Sunday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Adams had been a DNP at practice in recent weeks, but if he is suddenly upgraded to limited, I think we’ll know what was going on. If he’s active this week against the Steelers, he’s likely worth a start in most formats.
Jets fantasy football implications
The biggest question is what this means for Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. Wilson leads the team with 41 receptions for 399 yards and three touchdowns. Lazard has 26 receptions for 354 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns. Wilson has been a top ten fantasy receiver through six weeks. He’ll remain a key cog in the Jets offense, but I could see him slipping into the top-15 or top-20 range. He remains a solid weekly start, but it will be something to monitor.
Lazard will be a bit more of a boom or bust play. His season total fantasy points rank 11th in PPR leagues, thanks in large part to his five touchdowns. He’s been fairly well targeted, but I suspect that declines a bit with Adams joining the Jets. He’s been a solid WR2 with some WR1 upside at times, but he dips into more of a WR2/flex play until we see more.
Rodgers has struggled to find consistency, averaging 15 fantasy points per game through six weeks. He hasn’t been worth consideration even as a bye week plug in thus far, but he should climb a bit with a significant weapon added to the mix. He’s not worth QB1 consideration yet, but there’s enough upside to consider a waiver claim if you have some roster space.
Raiders fantasy football implications
Adams has sat out the last three weeks, so there really aren’t any short-term fantasy adjustments to make. Brock Bowers is the team’s best catcher by a long shot and his upside remains strong. Jakobi Meyers is their leading wide receiver once he returns from injury. We’ve seen enough the past three weeks with Adams sidelined to know not much will change. It’s possible removing a disgruntled player could help, but it’s also just as possible that trading Adams hurts morale a bit. It’s the Raiders, so it’s hard to get too excited about much on this offense outside of Bowers.
