Still Playing at a High Level, Davante Adams Embraces Mentor Role With Rams

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

When Los Angeles Rams receivers coach Eric Yarber closely evaluated Davante Adams’ 2024 season before the 32-year-old became a free agent in March, he came to a clear conclusion: He’s still as explosive as he was in his best seasons with the Green Bay Packers. 

Shortly after Yarber’s film study, the Rams inked Adams to a two-year deal. The early returns have been promising, with Adams putting his considerable skills on display during training camp practices as he appears primed for a big year ahead of Sunday’s regular-season opening matchup against the Houston Texans.

“I didn’t think he was going to be the same guy he was five or six years ago, but he is,” Yarber, who is entering his ninth season as the Rams’ wide receivers coach, told me. “And he’s a better person than he is a player. He’s the consummate pro. He wants to be coached. You would think a guy 12 years in the league with his type of experience and knowledge wouldn’t take to coaching like he does. But every play he wants to be coached.”

Adams’ presence was felt in team reps and individual drills during training camp. He was uncoverable in a scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys during a joint practice, repeatedly getting behind the opposing secondary for big plays. 

In individual drills, Adams has been the first person in line to set the tone for the Rams, doing so at the request of fellow teammate and Pro Bowler Puka Nacua. Just as he previously learned from another talented route runner in Cooper Kupp, Nacua said he wants to make sure he sees how Adams runs the route before his turn in line. 

[Read more: Expect A Shiftier Puka Nacua As He Takes On Larger Role For Rams In Year 3]

Adams is more than OK with taking that role for Nacua. 

“I kind of fell back and got in where I fit in, just for his comfortability,” Adams told me about his approach when he first joined the Rams. “And then, over time, starting in training camp, he (Nacua) actually made a comment that he wanted me to lead, so he can watch me. So, we ended up switching and going to that.

“It’s been a good experience watching the young guys. Puka’s just a young, humble player. He’s easy to get along with, so it makes the teaching process for me a lot easier.”

Davante Adams has emerged as a leader for the Rams ahead of his first regular-season with the team, taking Puka Nacua (left) under his wing. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Rams head coach Sean McVay has been effusive in his praise for Adams since he joined the team in free agency. Specifically, McVay has been impressed with Adams’ ability to think his way around the field, comparing the way he sees the game to a quarterback.

“He understands the timing and rhythm of all these plays,” McVay said. “He’s always in sync with the quarterback, and while he does have great ability to be able to change his paces and false accelerate, he’s on time and in rhythm with whatever that concept dictates and determines. That’s part of what makes him so unique. He’s obviously really gifted to be able to separate, but he’s really gifted above the neck at understanding how our pass game is tied up with the quarterback’s drops.” 

For his part, Adams said he gets juice from the boundless energy of McVay on the field while moving forward in this iteration of an offense he first learned from Matt LaFleur in Green Bay.

“It’s just continuing to capitalize on the opportunities that I’m given with Sean, because he’s a mastermind of ways to get guys the ball in different spots,” Adams told me. “And me having experience in this offense before, you kind of go off some of the tape I’ve had before, see some of the things that have worked there and obviously add in a lot of new things on his account as well.”

Adams has been one of the most consistent receivers in the NFL in terms of pure production over the past decade. In what some NFL observers considered a down year for the best route runner in the game, Adams still finished with 85 receptions for 1,053 yards and eight touchdowns while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets last season. 

Adams has posted 1,000 receiving yards in seven of his last eight seasons. His 11,844 career receiving yards rank fifth among active players in the NFL. However, when fellow Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell mentioned to Adams the possibility of reaching 2,000 receiving yards this season, the Fresno State product said he didn’t feel like he needed to put up those types of numbers on a team blessed with so many playmakers. 

While Davante Adams wasn’t able to lead the Jets to the playoffs, he was sixth in receiving yards (576) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (6) over the final six weeks of the 2024 season. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

“I’m confident I can handle my business in any offense,” Adams told me. “But you add in what Sean’s able to do, having a quarterback like Matthew [Stafford] and then you add in what Puka can do, Tutu and obviously the backs we have in Kyren [Williams] and the rest of the guys.

“We’ve got a deep team. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it obviously gives you an opportunity to be ahead of the game.” 

Speaking of Stafford, the 37-year-old veteran quarterback missed most of training camp with a balky back and just recently returned to practice. McVay said this week Stafford is expected to start on Sunday.

Adams said even though he and Stafford haven’t had much time on the field together over the last month, they did work on the field during organized team activities (OTAs) in the spring and have spent plenty of time off the field in the classroom and watching film. 

“We’ve had some reps in the past obviously in OTAs and everything,” Adams told me. “So, it’s expanding off that, continuing to push the envelope and being detailed-oriented. It’s only an hour-and-a-half on the field, and the rest of it is working in classroom. That’s where most of the communication is done.”

While Adams and Stafford might not have worked together as much as they would’ve liked over the last month, the two are intimately familiar with each other. The two played in the same division for seven seasons when Adams was with the Packers, while Stafford quarterbacked the Detroit Lions. 

“The proof is in the pudding,” Adams said on what he’s seen from Stafford since he joined the Rams. “You got what you saw. You’ve seen a dog. You’ve seen a tough guy, and that’s exactly what I’ve been seeing since I’ve been here. Obviously, it’s a lot easier to see in person, so I’ve been enjoying that.” 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.

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