Getty Davante Adams isn't just the Green Bay Packers top receiving target in 2019. He might be one of the best in the league.
There is always a little more fantasy football value on wide receivers that have Aaron Rodgers throwing to them, but which ones are worth starting in Week 1?
Only one. Davante Adams.
Don’t get the wrong idea, there are several quality targets on the Green Bay Packers this season. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is starting opposite Adams and poised to thrive after impressing the new regime as well as Rodgers himself. Geronimo Allison will work out of the slot and attempt to stay healthy enough to be as reliable as he is dangerous.
But only one of them is safe enough to be counted on as you take your first step into the 2019 fantasy season. With the Packers seemingly booked for a resurgence, Adams isn’t just good — he might be the very best the league has to offer.
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Davante Adams Fantasy Outlook: Matchup vs. Bears
Would you believe me if I told you Adams does better against the Bears than any other team in the NFL?
The numbers don’t lie. While Adams has played no team more than the Bears — a total of 10 games over his five seasons — he’s caught 44 passes for 568 yards with five touchdowns while helping the Packers to an 8-2 record over that period. A new offense tooled to Rodgers’ skill set also opens up Adams as a more dangerous weapon in his second full season as the unquestioned No. 1.
Figure the Bears defense to focus on Adams, but a season under his belt suggests he should be more comfortable handling the extra attention. Eddie Jackson and Kyle Fuller will be difficult to shake, but the play-action tendencies of LaFleur’s offense should afford him several big-play opportunities.
Rodgers trusts his man, and he’ll also want to walk out of Chicago with a win after last year coming home with a loss. His arsenal is improved, but his best target is evident.
Should You Start or Sit Davante Adams in Week 1?
If you have Adams, you don’t really have a choice. He and Rodgers are among the elite receiver-quarterback duos in the league and only removing one of them from the equation will change that. Fantasy Pros ranked Adams as just one of three wide receivers in its highest tier, joined only by Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins and Atlanta’s Julio Jones. To leave him on your bench, to even disgrace him with placement in your WR2 spot, would be morally irresponsible.
Adams caught a career-best 111 passes for 1,386 yards in a down year for the Packers after the departures of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb moved him to the top of the depth chart. A second year in the limelight could see him achieve even greater numbers than his 12.5 yards per reception in 2018, and that could pay a considerable fortune for fantasy owners.
Final verdict: What a fifth-year pro like Adams can offer teams over others such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans is a foundation with the Packers. Five seasons in the system, five seasons with the same two-time MVP quarterback. Even if Valdes-Scantling, Allison or another of the talented young receivers makes a splash, Adams will be called upon again and again all season long for the Packers. Start him indefinitely.
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