Three questions facing Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams in 2018.
Last season, Davante Adams was one of the Packers’ few offensive players to sustain a high level of performance through the Aaron Rodgers injury.
Now, he enters 2018 ready to finally produce as an elite receiver.
Still, uncertainties remain. These are the three top questions that Adams faces heading into the season.
1. Will he live up to his contract?
Right before the 2017 season came to a close, Adams signed a four-year, $58 million contract extension. The contract makes him the seventh-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL on a per-year basis, above the likes of Julio Jones, Allen Robinson, Keenan Allen, and others.
So will Adams be worth it?
Based on some recent big second contracts that Packers have signed, it’s a question worth asking.
Last offseason, the Packers inked Nick Perry to a five-year, $60 million extension. His sack total then dropped from 11 in 2017 to seven in 2018.
Following an outstanding 2014 campaign in which he averaged 14.1 yards on 91 receptions, Randall Cobb signed a four-year, $48 million extension. In the three seasons since then, he’s caught an average of 68.3 passes each season for 10.2 yards per reception.
Adams is on a promising career trajectory, and the Packers’ offense certainly could not have afforded to let him walk this offseason. But as a receiver who’s never reached 1,000 yards (tantalizingly close in 2016), he’ll need to ascend to another level to fully justify the contract.
There are two keys for him to do so: being available and continuing to improve where he can on the field.