While a big part of fantasy football research is trying to assess how players will do when they go to a new team, getting a handle on what the old team is doing to replace those players is critical. It's an opportunity for players to step up and fill the void. In this series, we'll examine six teams that had key departures this offseason and must find new ways to replace key fantasy production.
If you cut Davante Adams’ 2021 targets in half, he would have still led the Packers by a comfortable margin.
Adams, and his mind-meld with back-to-back reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, is the Green Bay Packers offense. Or should I say, was? The two-time Pro Bowler was dealt to the Raiders in the offseason, where he promptly signed a market-setting extension. In return, the Packers received Las Vegas’ first- and second-round picks, which may have been in the best interest of the cap-strapped franchise, but the move still left an Adams-sized hole at receiver.
Triple Crown winner Cooper Kupp was the only player to have a higher target share than Adams last season. He accounted for 28.5% of Green Bay’s targets, which made up the bulk of the team’s 43.5% vacated target share, according to 4for4.com. Adams matched a career-high 169 targets a season ago, which was tied for the second-most in the NFL. He also set career marks with 123 catches and 1,553 yards. The Packers also lost one of their top receivers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, to free agency.
This will be the first time since 2015 that Adams isn't an integral piece of Green Bay's game plan and coach Matt LaFleur's first go-around without one of the best pass-catchers in football.
Rodgers is an incredibly efficient passer, one of the league's best and one of the all-time best. He's not necessarily a high-volume passer, though. By the game's modern standards, the Packers were middle of the pack in passing frequency in 2021. Since there is no one-to-one replacement for a player of Adams' stature, a bump in usage for the running back tandem of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon may be in order, both on the ground and through the air. Green Bay has returning pass-catchers who can help fill the gap, and the front office sent Rodgers a peace offering by adding a rookie in the draft and a veteran in free agency to reupholster the receiver room. Still, how Rodgers, LaFleur and the Packers, as a Super Bowl hopeful, adjust to life without Adams will be one of the biggest stories of the season to come.
