Green Bay Packers: Ted Thompson’s top 30 draft picks of all-time

23. Davante Adams (Ray’s pick)

Ted Thompson went over the top in the spring of 2014 when he drafted three wide receivers, but it turned into pure gold by season’s end.

While Jared Abbrederis was lost to injury before he even got started their rookie year, we saw the potential that Jeff Janis may bring to the table came to the fore in the Packers final game of 2015.

But it was the second round selection of Davante Adams that was best of all … even with the off year Adams had in 2015.

While everybody expected Adams to contribute, nobody expected the level at which he played in 2014.

Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2nd round (53rd overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft, Adams began the season as the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart, but he didn’t last long.

Because the recently-departed Jarrett Boykin disappeared in the first two games, Adams saw his time on the field increase … a move that not only improved his personal stock but helped the Packers offense get even better than it had been.

By season’s end, Adams had started 11 games, caught 38 passes for 446 yards (11.7-yard average) and scored three touchdowns.

Couple that with the eight catches he made in the playoffs for 124 yards (15.5-yard average) and you had a rookie showing star potential. The touchdown he scored against the Dallas Cowboys when he juked one defender and outran the rest of the Dallas defensive backs was a thing of beauty.

Then came 2015.

He caught 50 balls in 2015, but only one for a touchdown even though he was targeted 94 times. It seemed like head coach Mike McCarthy really tried to get him involved – but without a lot of success.

But that doesn’t mean Adams can’t come back in 2016. In fact, we should expect that we will see much more of him connecting with Aaron Rodgers in the future. And with the return of Jordy Nelson to the Packers wide receiver corps we can only expect that Adams won’t have the pressure he had on him to pick up for the loss of Nelson last year.

Adams’ rookie season showed what he is capable of doing and with a chance to come back strong in 2016 one would think that his best years are ahead of him.

The Packers are poised for great things in 2016 and Adams is sure to play a big part in all that success.

Stay tuned on this guy …

Next: No. 23 (Freddie's pick)