At this point, there’s enough smoke to the Davante Adams trade rumors that it’s time to start looking for the fire. We’ve convened an emergency trade task force — Jake Ciely, KC Joyner, Gary Davenport, John Laghezza and Brandon Funston — to suss out the potential fantasy ramifications of an Adams deal, including best and worst landing spots, as well as who would benefit most from an Adams departure among the remaining Raiders.
As the catalyst for this exercise, we are using The Athletic’s recent Davante Adams trade proposal column, in which eight NFL team beat writers offered up proposals their teams might offer to swing a deal, as a jumping off point.
- Baltimore, Buffalo, Dallas, LA Rams, New Orleans, NY Jets, Washington, Pittsburgh
The only answer here — where Adams would be the clear No. 1 and on an offense to sustain his Top 15 value — is the Bills. You can argue the Rams, but that would require Cooper Kupp being done for the year. Adams would likely be the No. 1 with the Saints, but Chris Olave is too good to allow Adams to get a 30% target share — same with the Jets, and Rodgers looks washed. Justin Fields/Russell Wilson can’t even get George Pickens inside the Top 25 by himself. Jayden Daniels is amazing, but similar situation with Terry McLaurin to Pickens. CeeDee Lamb is the No. 1 in Dallas, thereby hurting Adams, and people need to stop mentioning the Ravens every time there is a potential trade. Stop. They don’t need it. So, as much as I love the breakout for my guy Khalil Shakir, it’s the Bills and Josh Allen. — Ciely
Among this group, the Bills are the only team with an elite quarterback and no true No. 1 wide receiver (healthy or injured) that also has the potential for a pass-centric approach. Every other club on this list can check off one or two of those items, but Buffalo stands alone as the only one to check all three. — Joyner
No real point in talking the “best” fantasy fit. It’s going to be Washington. The Commanders check all the boxes. NFC team. Cap space. And with Jaylen Daniels guiding them to a 3-1 start, a new owner would be a fool not to send the fanbase into apoplexy by making a splash move to land another offensive weapon. Washington is maybe a slight step back for Adams’ fantasy production — targets would go down, but better targets and less attention from opposing defenses would offset that somewhat. The real story there would be Terry McLaurin, who was starting to heat up. Cue the bagpipes on the breakout. I hope the Commanders do it though. Those fans deserve to see daylight. It’s been a long time in the basement. — Davenport
Given Adams turns 32 this Christmas Eve, the best fits are limited to teams within their competitive window — so kiss LAR, WAS, and PIT goodbye. Who’s the best team with the most pass-heavy approach that also desperately needs a second source of WR explosivity? It’s the Dallas Cowboys. Imagine adding a premiere piece like Adams to Brian Schottenheimer’s offense working opposite CeeDee Lamb — wow! — Laghezza
I’m going with a different team from New York in the Jets. First off, we saw what happened to Stefon Diggs when the Bills handed the play-calling duties to Joe Brady midway through last season — including the postseason, he averaged 42.2 yards and scored just one TD in his final 10 games. The Bills are still playing it conservative — they are 9-2 in the regular season since making that switch — averaging just 26 pass attempts per game compared to 34 for the Jets. Obviously, Aaron Rodgers and Adams have a well-established relationship, and adding Adams to the lineup is likely to open things up more for the September slugs Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. — Funston
Do you feel that any of those eight teams would represent a step down from Las Vegas for Adams in terms of fantasy upside? If so, which team, and why?
See my first answer … Every team is a downgrade outside the Bills and Rams (with no Kupp). Reminder: Adams was WR18 in FPPG on 175 targets last year. The catch rate would be better with most, but he’s not seeing that volume with most, if any, of these potential new teams. — Ciely
Fantasy managers might not want to see Adams go to Pittsburgh. The Steelers have built their roster with a ground-and-pound approach. That will keep pass attempts to a minimum and the competition with George Pickens for vertical passes might make this a lateral or negative move for Adams. — Joyner
Pittsburgh is the disaster scenario here, and not just because I’m a Browns fan — that’s already a disaster. The Steelers adding Adams wouldn’t drastically change an offense that ranks 25th in pass attempts and averages less than 190 passing yards per game. Pittsburgh wouldn’t suddenly open things up. All it would do is decimate the fantasy value of both Adams and George Pickens — unless Adams assimilates Pickens like the Borg and gets credit for his stats too. — Davenport
It’s easy to get down on Adams’ production as a Raider, but fantasy football is still about opportunity and he’s earned over 30% of the team’s target share for his current team. That makes any team without the potential for double-digit target loads like BUF, NYJ, WAS, or PIT a step down. — Laghezza
Baltimore would be a step down. Since 2018, the team has produced just one Top 25 fantasy WR (PPR PTS). Adams would join Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely in the support group for Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. I have no doubt if Adams went to Baltimore, he’d be a rollercoaster ride of production, with at least as many downs as ups. — Funston
Outside of those eight teams, is there another team (not listed) with a plausible need for Adams that you think would make a better fit? If so, why?
Obviously, the Chiefs make sense, but that’s not happening. The only other team I could see sustaining Top 25 value for Adams is the Falcons. Kyle Pitts is a mismatch at tight end but overmatched as a receiver, and it’s just not working using him hybrid-style. Put Adams with Drake London and Kirk Cousins, and, yeah, that could work. — Ciely
Kansas City’s passing game has been less than stellar (to put it kindly), which is why Patrick Mahomes is on a career-long, nine-game streak with fewer than 20 fantasy points. Adams would be a huge boon for the Chiefs, but there is likely very little chance the Raiders will help their AFC West rivals three-peat. — Joyner
Arizona maybe? Kyler Murray with Adams, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride could make for an interesting offense, and that team isn’t as far away from being in things as a few with better records. Dallas will always be the one that got away — Dak Prescott throwing 60 passes to Adams and CeeDee Lamb a game in shootouts every week because the Cowboys can’t run the ball even a little would have been fun. — Davenport
At (2-2) through four weeks, if the Chargers want to push for the playoffs they could make a push for Adams. Los Angeles has a unique combination of above-average coaching and quarterback talent with a target void that could use a dynamic pass-catcher. — Laghezza
I’m with Jake on the Falcons. We’ve seen how Darnell Mooney’s career has been resuscitated in Atlanta (WR34), and Adams would likely look even better playing opposite Drake London, and with Cousins throwing him the ball. — Funston
Assuming Las Vegas doesn’t get a starting skill position player in return for Adams, who among the current Raiders’ skill position players will see the biggest bump in fantasy value in his absence?
It’s Tre Tucker. Easy. He’s in the WR3 conversation without Adams (hurt). He’d be a weekly starter in most half- and full-PPR leagues. — Ciely
Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is the percentage answer, as he had 10 targets last week with Adams out of the lineup. Brock Bowers is the hopeful answer, as tight end scoring has been abysmal this year and fantasy managers would be thrilled if he got back to his Weeks 1-2 scoring pace that saw him rack up 30.6 PPR points over that two-game span. — Joyner
Meyers and Bowers would appear the biggest beneficiaries. The problem is that we saw what an Adams-less Raiders passing “attack” looked like in last week’s win over Cleveland. It wasn’t pretty. Meyers had more targets than PPR fantasy points. Bowers was mostly irrelevant. The Raiders average 76.3 yards on the ground per game — dead last in the AFC. It won’t get any better without Adams. Meyers is a capable NFL receiver, but he’s not commanding double-teams. Neither is Bowers, at least not yet. Essentially, the Raiders without Adams are the Patriots with a worse run game but a better “No. 1” wideout and tight end. If “slightly better than the Patriots” doesn’t get your fantasy juices flowing, check the tank. It may be dry. — Davenport
Future face of the franchise, Brock Bowers, is the easy answer. Without Adams on Sunday, Luke Getsy and the Raiders reconfigured their standard personnel — they ran 2-TE sets on nearly double the snaps, resulting in a season-high route participation for this year’s 13th overall pick. — Laghezza
The team was high on Tre Tucker coming into the season and I can definitely see them turning him loose. He’s already percolating with an average of 13 PPR PPG the past two weeks. I appreciate Meyers, but he’s the Joey Knish of the NFL, a low-stakes grinder who is going to earn his 70-catch, 800-yard paycheck every season, but rarely anything more. — Funston
