Our annual “Path to WR1” series spotlights WRs ranked outside the Top 15 in Andy, Mike, and Jason’s early rankings and outlines what would need to go right for them to finish inside the top 12.
Let’s be honest, this is as borderline as it gets.
Davante Adams lands at WR16 in the Fantasy Footballers’ rankings, the first name eligible for this series. Once you glance at the names ahead of him, you start wondering… is that actually too low? Tee Higgins, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyreek Hill, it’s not hard to poke holes in some of those top-15 arguments. And while Davante might not be peak-Packers-Adams anymore, he’s still producing like a WR1. He topped 1,000 receiving yards and scored eight TDs last season, despite bouncing between two dysfunctional offenses (the Raiders ranked 29th in points per game, the Jets 24th), and missing three games with a hamstring injury. The prime might be behind him, but the fantasy production? Still very much in play.
Editor’s Note: This profile is part of our annual Path to a Fantasy WR1 Season series. For our methodology and an outline of the process, make sure you read the 2025 Path to WR1 Series Primer. Find out the full statistical projections for the Footballers Consensus WR1s in the Ultimate Draft Kit.
2024 Season Recap
Davante Adams kicked off 2024 with a bang in Week 2, snagging nine catches for 110 yards and a TD. That performance earned him a WR5 finish in fantasy football. However, just a few weeks later, a hamstring injury during practice sidelined him for three games. That same week, reports surfaced that Adams had requested a trade from Las Vegas. On October 15, his wish was granted. The Raiders traded him to the Jets, reuniting him with his former QB pal, Aaron Rodgers. New York proved far from ideal. Adams stepped into an offense riddled with inconsistency, offensive line woes, a midseason coaching change, shaky play-calling, and a firmly entrenched No. 1 receiver in Garrett Wilson. Despite these challenges, Adams excelled, averaging 17.2 fantasy points per game (ninth overall), eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards in 14 games.
Let’s say Davante Adams retired today…
if you stack up his final 9 seasons (135 games), here’s where it ranks all-time vs every other WR’s final 135 games:
Receptions- 3rd most ever
Receiving Yards- 6th most ever
Receiving TDs- 2nd most ever
1st Downs- 6th most ever— Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg) February 14, 2025
His weekly ceiling wasn’t as high as it had been in years past. He posted top-24 fantasy finishes in roughly half of his appearances but didn’t rack up as many high-end weeks. He had four WR1 finishes (five if you count Week 18, but who does?), and came close again in Week 16, finishing as the WR13 during the fantasy playoffs.
The Path For 2025
Davante Adams has a fresh start after signing a two-year, $44 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams. Adams joins a far more stable and proven setup, and he is now catching passes from Matthew Stafford and working under Sean McVay, one of the sharpest offensive minds in the league.
That’s a clear upgrade. Adams has already said he feels “rejuvenated,” and if you’ve followed his career, you know a motivated Davante is a dangerous Davante.
Davante Adams said he feels “rejuvenated” this offseason in LA.
“Everybody’s in a good mood. It’s not like a dark cloud over the building. And I’ve experienced that quite a bit over the last few years. So, it’s a glaring difference when you come into a building like this.”
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) June 10, 2025
After parting ways with Cooper Kupp (18% target share), Demarcus Robinson (13%), and Tyler Johnson (8%), the Rams have a whopping 215 vacated targets up for grabs, per PlayerProfiler. That’s a massive opportunity. Fantasy managers, take note: We were drafting Cooper Kupp higher than Adams just a year ago, and Adams steps into this offense with more production behind him than even Kupp.
And while we never want to predict injuries, it’s hard not to have some concern about Puka Nacua missing time. He dealt with injuries throughout his college career and last season. If Davante Adams ends up being the WR1 in this offense, even for just a few weeks, we could see some serious week-winning upside. We’re talking top-5 WR ceiling if Adams steps into that kind of lead role on this high-flying offense.
Target Share
Target Share and Targets Per Route Run (TPRR) are two of the most dependable indicators of fantasy success. They reveal just how vital a receiver is in their offense. If you want WR1 numbers, you’re usually looking for 20%+ target share. The elite ones push 30%.
Davante Adams continues to crush both.
According to the UDK’s Market Share Report, Adams commanded a 29.5% target share in 2024, which was 5th among all WRs. And this isn’t new: According to PFF, his 28.7% target rate over the last five seasons is the highest in the league. Since 2006, 92% of receivers who finished as a WR2 or better (top 24) have had a Targets Per Route Run of at least 20%. Adams had a TPRR of 25.4% last season, which was 9th overall. Even with team changes and offensive chaos, Adams remains one of the most heavily utilized receivers in the NFL.
Some guys are just dawgs.
| YEAR | TARGET SHARE % | TPRR |
| 2020 | 29.5 | 8.8 |
| 2021 | 33.1 | 9 |
| 2022 | 32.6 | 11.8 |
| 2023 | 33.1 | 10.8 |
| 2024 | 29.5 | 8.3 |
Yards & aDOT
As I stated in the introduction, Adams has been a consistent producer regardless of the offense he’s on. Last year, he hit 1,000 yards for the 5th season in a row. Kupp put up 710 yards last year on two fewer games, but hasn’t really put up even close to the production Adams has over the past 5 seasons.
| YEAR | YARDS | aDOT | YPRR | YAC |
| 2020 | 1374 | 8.8 | 2.97 | 473 |
| 2021 | 1553 | 9 | 3.24 | 576 |
| 2022 | 1516 | 11.8 | 2.59 | 528 |
| 2023 | 1144 | 10.8 | 2.03 | 336 |
| 2024 | 1063 | 8.3 | 2.09 | 473 |
Although the aDOT has been declining slightly over the last three seasons, Adams’ 473 yards after the catch in 2024 suggest he still has the juice to win all over the field, even at 32 years old. Kupp put up 710 yards last year on two fewer games, but hasn’t really put up even close to the production Adams has over the past 5 seasons.
TDs
Davante Adams has long been one of the most reliable TD scorers in football, with six seasons of double-digit TDs, trailing only legends like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Marvin Harrison. While the average WR1 over the past five years scores about 9.5 TDs per season, Adams has routinely cleared that mark. Last year, Puka Nacua commanded a massive target share down the stretch (37% from Week 10 on) but struggled to convert those looks into TDs, scoring just nine times in his first 28 games. One reason? Lack of red zone usage. He saw just six end-zone targets all year and came down with only 3 TDs.
That’s where Adams steps in. Per the UDK’s Red Zone Report, Adams ranked 4th in red zone targets last season. His elite ball skills, physicality, and ability to win on fades and back-shoulder throws make him a natural fit to unlock the Rams’ red zone offense and boost both passing and rushing scoring efficiency.
Conclusion
There may be some wear on the tires, but Davante Adams isn’t running on fumes. The situation in Los Angeles checks every box we look for when projecting a WR1 finish: a smart head coach, a trustworthy QB, massive vacated volume, and a receiver who still dominates the metrics that matter—target share, TPRR, red zone usage, and year-over-year production. Adams has demonstrated that he can thrive in chaos. Now he gets structure, stability, and Stafford. Plus, using the UDK Strength of Schedule tool, we see that the Rams’ WRs face the 5th-easiest schedule ahead! Don’t let age deter you from betting on one of the most reliable performers of the past decade. The path to WR1 is there.
