The Packers Hope They Have James Jones in Davante Adams
By MikeReuter
When James Jones was not offered a contract by the Packers after the 2013 season they knew they were going to need to find a replacement for him. Whether Jones' replacement came through free agency, the draft, or Jarrett Boykin they needed to find him. Almost two months after James Jones signed with the Oakland Raiders, with the 53rd pick of the draft, the Green Bay Packers found their new James Jones.
Enter Davante Adams.
Adams, a 6'1" receiver who ran a 4.56 40-yard dash and played at a smaller Division I school in California, was tasked to replace a 6'1" receiver who ran a 4.54 40-yard dash from a smaller Division I school in California.
Despite those HUGE differences, there turned out to be some similarities between Jones and Adams too.
The Packers ended up using Adams in his first season in the NFL at a similar high-rate to how they used Jones his rookie year. As rookies Jones and Adams saw way more playing time than any other rookie receiver for the Packers since Greg Jennings in 2006. With a lack of options behind him, Jones played in 732 snaps in 2007. Similarly, due to a lack of depth behind him, Adams played 885 snaps last season. For comparison, Nelson and Cobb-the two rookie receivers who played the most for the Packers between 2008 and 2013-played a combined 836 snaps their rookie years.
Both Jones and Adams played primarily on the outside and saw consistent targets on short, medium, and long passes. Both Jones and Adams had roughly 60 percent of their targets come within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage their rookie years. The difference being that Jones had the majority of his targets over the middle of the field and Adams was a little more spread out between the middle and outside of the field.
Each receiver struggled with consistency in their rookie year with a couple standout games sandwiched between a lot of "bleh." Among that "bleh" were a lot of passes that weren't caught. Jones caught 59.5 percent of passes thrown his way and Adams caught 61.3 percent of the passes thrown his way, both below the 66 percent completion percentage their quarterbacks completed that year. A large part of that can be attributed to both of them struggling with drops.
Physically there is a lot of similarities between Jones and Adams and there was a lot of similarities to James Jones' rookie season in Davante Adams' rookie season. Despite the similarities Jones and Adams are not the exact same player. Adams has more upside physically than Jones did his rookie year and at this point in their careers. Adams can be a little more physical and definitely has more of the "athletic freak" to his game than Jones does.
Despite the big play ability in Adams, Jones and Adams averaged 5.1 and 5.8 yards after the catch respectfully their rookie years. Even if the hands never fully come, hopefully yards after catch is one area that Adams can improve upon from James Jones' career. Jones has typically struggled and averaged right around five yards after the catch for his career with high seasons in the seven range and lows in the two range.
For this season if Jones can lineup on the right side of the field and provide some consistency while Adams lines up on the left side and provides the big play threat, despite having similar talents, they can still make one heck of a combination with Cobb terrorizing the slot.
The potential that Adams showed last year was great but that consistency will be maddening if the Packers have to depend upon him this year and he does not improve. If he doesn't take the next step this season in consistency I wouldn't be surprised to see Adams start to lose snaps to not only Jones, but Montgomery and potentially Janis. James Jones himself took almost five years before he really started to make his mark on the offense with consistency and before that was pushed to the bench frequently in his competition with a similarly inconsistent Jordy Nelson in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Don't be surprised if we see similar results with these young receivers this year.
Just because there is a lot of similarities with Jones and Adams does not mean that their careers will follow the same path but the Packers certainly hope they have another James Jones on their hands with Davante Adams, hopefully this one arrives quicker than the first.
Comments (42)
croatpackfan
September 10, 2015 at 07:42 am
I found ineteresting that Giants, who released James Jones, signed Myles White to their PS... Hmmm... Maybe they were hoping to get younger and faster guy then James? Or they just went for cheaper option?
Since'61
September 10, 2015 at 10:52 am
Croat - it is probably because the NY Giants offensive coordinator came from GB coaching staff and is running an offense similar to the Packers. Myles White is familiar with the system and can easily be plugged into the Giant's offense if necessary. Thanks, Since '61
MikeReuter
September 10, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Just a guess, but with Cruz iffy to be healthy they probably wanted to free up a roster spot for a slot receiver since OBJ, Randal, and Jones all play outside and they figured they could save some money by cutting Jones. I didn't watch any of their preseason, so it's possible he didn't look very good too.
White is a PS guy so they don't need to worry about the roster spot and as '61 mentioned, Ben McAdoo is the o-coordinator there (used to be on the Packers staff until last year) and probably liked what he saw of White.
croatpackfan
September 10, 2015 at 01:51 pm
@Since61 & @Mike
Thanks guys, I just found that amusing, nothing else... I'm sure MM and TT knows what they are doing, just little sad about player (in this occasion his name is Myles White) who thought he realized his dream, but that lasted just few hours...
Bearmeat
September 10, 2015 at 06:41 am
Adams does have way more physical upside than Jones ever did. I'm not saying that James is a bad football player - far from it. I'm just saying that Adams pops off the screen MUCH more than James EVER did.
I do believe that Adams can be a combination of Greg Jennings speed and dexterity and James Jones' strength at the line of scrimmage and when the ball is in the air.
That'd be awesome.
Thegreatreynoldo
September 10, 2015 at 08:59 am
I'm not a fan of Adams, admittedly, but he does offer nice yards after the catch potential. Jennings ran a 4.42 second forty versus the 4.56 forty Adams ran. And yes, .14 seconds is significant. I'd like to know their respective drop rates.
The author never quite gets around to giving the full comparison:
Jones 47 receptions for 676 yards, 14.4 yd. average
Adams: 38 recs for 446 yards and a 11.7 yd. average.
230 yards is a significant difference. Jones had less talent to contend with during his rookie year, though.
MikeReuter
September 10, 2015 at 01:01 pm
Jones had Jennings and Driver, which was a pretty great combination.
I didn't include the yardage, but probably could have. There is no doubt Jones had the better rookie year statistically. He also saw more targets despite playing fewer snaps... but different QBs.
Evan
September 10, 2015 at 07:22 am
Nothing against him or his career, but I'm hoping Adams' ceiling is higher than James Jones.
vj_ostrowski
September 10, 2015 at 07:49 am
That's shooting awfully low on Adams. Adams can be a true #1.
Bearmeat
September 10, 2015 at 07:59 am
He can be a "true" WR1 in the middle of the pack of WR1s. Probably not All-Pro. He doesn't have the speed to take it to the house on every play. But his physicality and mid level speed combo is quite impressive.
He'll never be Dez Bryant or Terell Owens physically. But he could be Hines Ward. And I'd take that any day.
vj_ostrowski
September 10, 2015 at 09:56 am
Yes, I would agree. He doesn't have the pure body or speed that an elite #1 requires. He can be what Michael Crabtree was supposed to be though. And he can take over a game - which we saw twice last year. I hope we see it more often this year!
Bear
September 10, 2015 at 10:39 am
Not sure how important 40 timed speed is vs game speed. Jerry Rice had a heck of a career with a 4.71 in the forty.
Copied from an article comparing all-pro wide receivers " But Jordy Nelson ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. In contrast, Jerry Rice, the greatest NFL receiver ever, ran a 4.71."
marpag1
September 10, 2015 at 12:50 pm
Nelson ran a 4.51 at the NFL combine.
Bearmeat
September 10, 2015 at 01:09 pm
Jerry Rice also completely transformed his body AFTER his 2nd year in the league. His training regimen, like Walter Payton's was off the charts. He may have run a 4.7 in 1985. But there's no way that guy ran a 4.7 by 1988.
Plus, let's be honest. As great as the teams from the 60s-80s were, every playoff team on an annual basis would now steamroll any team from that era. The training methods are that much better, and as a result players are bigger, faster, stronger.
4.7 in today's NFL for a rook at a combine would have meant undrafted.
Bear
September 12, 2015 at 01:18 am
Agree
marpag1
September 10, 2015 at 01:32 pm
I've got no real argument, Bearmeat, but I would say that physically he will never be Hines Ward, either. Ward and Adams both ran virtually the same 40 time, but Ward was an unholy terror in the running game, and is probably the best downfield blocker that I've ever seen. I don't see that kind of physicality in Adams.
Granted, Adams might have a bit more shake and wiggle. But Adams probably has the potential to be "Good" in YAC while Ward was "Other-worldly" as a blocker.
Ward was the WR version of Ndamukong Suh... a perfect jackass unless he played for your team. Then you loved him. I guess my point is that hoping for another Hines Ward is setting the bar pretty high. I'd be flat-out thrilled if Adams could be as good as Ward.
MikeReuter
September 10, 2015 at 01:13 pm
I'm not saying Davante couldn't be a legit #1 receiver. I think highly of James Jones as a Packer and I would be happy if Adams achieves what Jones did his last three years and I believe the talent around Jones (WRs) suppressed his numbers more than his own talent.
2012 Jones caught 65% of the passes thrown his way for 784 yards and 14 touchdowns. Adams is being given every shot to take the #2 receiver spot and run with it this year and I'm not entirely sold that Adams will reach any of Jones' 2012 numbers this year (which other than TDs, isn't saying a ton).
The first couple weeks will be very telling and I'm more than willing to admit I could be way off here, but I think there's at least as good of a chance that Montgomery/Janis cuts into Adams' playing time than Adams coming close to a legit #1 guy by the end of the year.
If Adams can be what James Jones was, I think that would be great.
LASVEGAS-TOM
September 10, 2015 at 02:51 pm
I agree completely. Everyone knows I'm JJ's biggest fan on this board. I also think Adams is & will be a Great Receiver. I'm not ready to put him ahead of James Jones when JJ first came to GB. As was said, Jones had more & Better Competition than than Adams has. He's going to be a really good Receiver for GB if he stays healthy, but I don't believe he's better than Jones was at this point in his career. I believe James Jones will help GB this year. Adams being younger, & if he's as good as everyone thinks, should help GB a lot more. Jordy & Cobb are HUGE LOSSES, but I'm confident we still have a pretty good receiving core. I really thought Abredaris would fill in somewhere.
RCPackerFan
September 10, 2015 at 08:29 am
Its hard to not get excited about Adams potential when you see him making plays like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlUv6hRk7S0
And you add that with McCarthy and Rodgers raving about Adams offseason. I expect Adams to have a bigger year then Jones has ever had.
J0hn Denver's Gavel
September 11, 2015 at 12:24 am
Did you take Adams this year in ff?
RCPackerFan
September 11, 2015 at 09:57 am
I play in 1 league. And I forgot when the draft was. So i got my team auto picked for me.
I would have picked him, but didn't get a chance to.
EdsLaces
September 10, 2015 at 08:36 am
The td against Dallas was great. My favorite play however was easily the one where he caught the ball with the db allover him and threw him to the ground.
MikeReuter
September 10, 2015 at 01:15 pm
That and the Cobb catch are what won the game in the 4th. Great play on 3rd down by Adams and says a lot that Rodgers would take the chance on him making the play.
Archie
September 10, 2015 at 10:51 am
We will soon find out how good Davante Adams is. For the Packers sake, I hope he is damn good because we really need him this year.
As to TT and his tortoise-like approach to roster-buildiing i.e., let the veterans go and keep accumulating no-name youngsters, I say the following: If we get a couple more Super Bowls during the next few years, then there will be little room to complain. However, if we continue to fall short every year despite have the best QB on the planet in his prime, then I say it is a failure. TT feels no urgency to win mow. That is clear. He is content just being in the hunt every year. As a fan, I am not. I would much prefer having a great 3 year run ala SEA, blow the team up and start over. Iff TT never makes it to another SB, how long will fans be content with that? For me, no SB in the next two years would spell abject failure for the AROD era.
Evan
September 10, 2015 at 11:36 am
You mean that "great 3 year run" that also only yielded one Super Bowl trophy?
Winning the Super Bowl is, like, really hard. And it takes a lot more luck than people realize. One injury here. One lucky bounce there. A million little things have to go right throughout the season. The "best" team doesn't always win (see: 2014 Green Bay Packers.)
Me, personally, I'd much rather root for a team that's right there in the mix every year. It's like the lottery. The more tickets you buy, the better your chance of winning.
TarynsEyes
September 10, 2015 at 12:06 pm
"The "best" team doesn't always win (see: 2014 Green Bay Packers.) "
The best team was able to see and then fix their in game flaw(s).....The Packers didn't and the Seahawks did as witnessed.Point fingers at whom ever when ever,the best teams make the correction calls,executes and wins.
The best team on paper is and always will be the best team on paper...on the field when it counts is the separation between paper and grass. :)
TKWorldWide
September 10, 2015 at 06:22 pm
Evan: ditto, ditto, ditto, in my identical opinion.
toolkien
September 10, 2015 at 02:14 pm
I smell some troll-bait, but anyway...
In the short to medium terms, TT has supplied the necessary potency, there just hasn't been enough consistency (particularly sustaining turnover margin generation in the playoffs). The numbers prove it on pretty much any metric site out there. The problem, again, is consistency and that falls on MM, in the short to mid-term. And MM is too good to fire even in the long term, so we live with the under preparedness in the playoffs .
So, not just in the TT period, but ever since 1992, for all of their overall potency, the Packers have underachieved. If New England, the best team has been to 7 Super bowls, and the Steelers the third best team since 1992 has been to 4, interpolation says the Packers should probably have been to about 5. But they haven't.
If one assigns post season value based on a 0-5 scale (0-no playoffs, 1-wild card loss, 2-divisonal loss, 3-conference loss, 4-Super Bowl loss, 5-Super Bowl win) NWE is tops with 50 points. Next is a tie between the Packers and Steelers at 40 points. Again, the Packers should between NWE and the Steelers, at about 44-45. So the Packers were bounced too early too many times over the last 23 years. And that's where the missing Super Bowls are.
But if Favre was going to release his inner Jay Cutler in single-elimination, and McCarthy releases his inner Bart Starr at tournament time too, then it's no surprise the Packers, while having tasted a decent amount of success, HAVE released their inner Vikings a bit too often come the playoffs. Not rolling on the floor, near passing out level choking, but certain an errant corn nut lodged in the wind pipe to be sure.
But it is what it is. My only complaint is the form some of those early exits took. A manly exit against a fearsome opponent would have been one thing, getting schooled by Atlanta or Minnesota, or a 4th and 26, or a last-five-minutes melt down are something else. Rounds too soon and in embarrassing fashion.
In the end, it's been this whole time. But Wolf and TT have supplied the potency, it's been a failure of consistency by the talent and coaching.
Amanofthenorth
September 11, 2015 at 04:49 am
Smells like bovine feces
Archie
September 10, 2015 at 10:55 am
Greatness is measured in championships, period. Not divisional crowns or playoff appearances. If you don't believe me, read famous quotes by Vincent Lombardi. Nobody cares about the guy who finishers 2nd or worse. It's all about championships - were you the best or were you an also-ran?
vj_ostrowski
September 10, 2015 at 12:58 pm
So you still haven't explained how the Seahawks' method has netted them anything great than TT's. And please, for the love of god, don't say "one more super bowl appearance"
The mysterious "Super Bowl Appearance", as if it's a feather in anyone's cap, only started appearing as a meaningful stat in the minds of Packer fans when anti-TT had to start finding ways to differentiate his success from Ron Wolf's.
Archie
September 10, 2015 at 10:58 am
Prediction for Packers-Bears game.
I don't think we will see a typical Jay Cutler game as to TOs. However, despite a bad Packer defense and ST, I don't see CHI scoring much in the game. I don't see GB scoring much either. Both sides will run the ball a great deal and/or throw short a lot.
Final score: Packers 20 Bears 10.
AZPack
September 10, 2015 at 08:47 pm
Packers will score quite a bit more than Chi.
Packers 30-10.
vj_ostrowski
September 10, 2015 at 09:37 pm
If that ends up being true, I'd wonder whether it has more to do with the inexperience of our DBs vs any improvement by Cutler. After all, he probably has worse weapons than he's ever had in his time in Chicago. An injured Jeffrey, Bennett, and an aging Forte is all he's got.
Lphill
September 10, 2015 at 12:49 pm
I disagree Archie , I see the Packers scoring high and sending a message to the NFL , no Jordy , no problem .
4thand1
September 10, 2015 at 03:00 pm
The Packers seem to have drop issues with everyone. Finley, Jones, Adams, Nelson. Cobb and Jennings were good though. Rodgers will make them all look good if they catch the dam ball. Lets not lose sight of #12, the passes will be there and Richard Rogers will break out this year. We have a MVP QB, nuff said.
coreyb
September 10, 2015 at 05:29 pm
Hello packer Fans!
Grandfathered
September 10, 2015 at 06:56 pm
Hello CoreyB. What do you think of the comparison of Jones and Adams?
Amanofthenorth
September 11, 2015 at 04:51 am
Lol. Is that what's happening?
Icebowler
September 10, 2015 at 09:06 pm
Adams will be better than Jones overall this year but I'm glad that we picked up Jones. He's great in the red zone, especially catching those low throws on the goal line, which rarely get intercepted. We won't have the big plays to Jordy this year, so we need to be more methodical. That means we need to eliminate the offensive penalties by the OL. Actually, longer drives should help the defense to stay rested.
Speaking of the defense, it sure would be nice to see some consistent "hard nosed" play from that group. It seems that any Packers defensive success in recent memory has been due to getting a lot of turnovers rather than kick ass tackling. If we can see the opponent in 2nd and seven or eight a lot this year, we will be in Santa Clara in February.
Oppy
September 10, 2015 at 09:14 pm
Davante Adams is the most gifted WR the packers have had on their roster since Jevon Walker.
Adams has the potential to be a super star.
4thand1
September 10, 2015 at 10:36 pm
Lets all hope he doesn't turn into a Jevon Walker. Adams will be really good IMO, he's proven he can be a force, now just be more consistant.