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Fans of the Las Vegas Raiders are on top of the world right now after the stunning trade for Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams. He’s arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL and the best wide receiver the team has had since Tim Brown. The Raiders gave up this year’s first and second-round draft picks to land the five-time Pro Bowler while also handing him a record-breaking five-year contract worth $141.25 million.
The Raiders and many of their fans are more than happy to pay that price for the superstar but not everybody is on board. Notably, the team traded away star pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for draft picks instead of paying him a big contract. That didn’t end up paying off for the Bears as they didn’t win a single playoff game in four seasons with Mack and recently traded him to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now that the Raiders are on the opposite end of a blockbuster trade, Fox Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb thinks they made a big mistake. He questioned why Las Vegas would “overpay” for a single wide receiver when they could’ve just drafted one with one of the picks they sent to Green Bay. He referred to it as “the Khalil Mack trade in reverse.”
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Nick Wright Also Blasts Raiders for Deal
Not one to miss out on a chance to Raider bash, fellow Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright also ripped the team for the Adams deal. He referred to the move as “vintage Raiders madness” while stating the team has “far and away the worst” quarterback in the AFC West in Derek Carr.
It’s true that Carr is widely viewed as the least skilled out of the four AFC West quarterbacks. However, that doesn’t mean he’s not good. At his best, Carr could be considered one of the 10 best in the league. Now that he has Adams to throw to, views on Carr could be much higher after 2022. It’s important to note that Wright is a Chiefs fan while Gottlieb is a Chargers fan. Not exactly two fan bases that love the Raiders.
These Concerns Are Wildly Overstated
For some teams, giving up what the Raiders did to land Adams may have been an overpay, but it’s important to keep in mind his connection to Carr. While at Fresno State, the two connected on 233 passes for 3,031 yards with 38 touchdowns. There’s a ton of rapport built between the two and that should translate quickly in the NFL.
Sure, the Raiders could’ve waited until the draft to address the need at wide receiver but that wouldn’t have been a win-now move. There have been some great wide receivers to come out of the draft in recent years but it’s not always a sure thing. Drafting a player is always riskier than going with a proven commodity. Also, it’s difficult to fully judge the Adams deal until Carr’s eventual contract extension is revealed. Perhaps taking a discount to afford Adams was baked into the cake. Regardless, the Raiders are better now than they were last season and it’s going to take some time to find out if this Adams deal was a mistake.
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