Pros and Cons: Should Jets trade for Davante Adams?

Now that the regular season is over, attention has already started to turn towards what the New York Jets will be able to do to improve their team’s chances in 2024. One weakness that became increasingly apparent over the course of the 2023-24 season was the lack of an established pass-catching threat to pair with Garrett Wilson.

Could the Jets address this by making a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to bring in Davante Adams? The team already reportedly explored a deal for Adams at the deadline and was rebuffed, but now that the Raiders are back in a rebuilding mode, is this a trade that could make sense for both parties?

Let's break down the pros and cons...

Pros

Scheme Fit

Adams is an obvious target due to his previous history with the Packers and current Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers missed his entire first season in New York -- save for a few snaps -- the Jets are still heading into the 2024 offseason with the intention of building around him. What better player to add than one who has been one of the most talented receivers that Rodgers has ever played with?

Adams obviously played three seasons with Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator and eight with Rodgers as his quarterback, so the chemistry and scheme familiarity should be immediate, and a Wilson-Adams pairing would be one of the most feared wide receiver duos in the entire league.

Talent and Production

Adams is a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, but that’s not all because of Rodgers. He’s had two 100-catch seasons since leaving the Packers and set a career-high in terms of yards per catch average in 2022. This season, he impressively caught 103 passes, even though rookie Aidan O’Connell was the main person throwing him the ball.

Also, he had eight touchdown catches, which easily would have led the Jets, and is actually more than every Jets wide receiver combined in 2023. Six of those touchdowns came in the red zone, so adding Adams would automatically upgrade the Jets in an area where they struggled badly in 2023 – before you even factor in Rodgers’ return.

He therefore shows no sign of slowing down at 31 years old and might even be revitalized by the prospect of reuniting with Rodgers.

Contractual Status

Adams is under contract for the next three years and the Jets would pay him $17 million in 2024, which is an extremely reasonable amount for an elite receiver. More importantly, there’s no guaranteed money beyond 2024, so the Jets will have the option to cut ties relatively painlessly if the deal doesn’t work out for whatever reason.

If 2024 goes well, though, the Jets will have full control over his rights for the next two years, so it wouldn’t necessarily just need to be a one-year rental.

Cons

Compensation

Unlike a few of the other big-name receivers who will be available this offseason, Adams is under contract so the Jets would have to part with some draft compensation to bring him aboard.

While the Raiders were said to be seeking a first-round pick when the idea of potentially trading him was floated at the trade deadline, it’s unlikely the Jets would need to part with a first-rounder for a receiver in his early thirties. It’s possible there could be conditions attached to any pick, or maybe even another player or two involved in the trade.

Availability

As with any trade, it takes two to tango, and the Jets can’t expect to make a lowball offer that the Raiders will go along with, even if Adams indicates a desire to join the Jets. The expectation is that Adams would be on board with such a move, but no official discussions will have taken place yet due to tampering regulations.

Adams doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so if another team comes in with a bigger offer, the Raiders could be tempted to make that deal, or at least demand extra compensation from the Jets.

Age and Durability

As noted, Adams is 31 years old, which is an age when receivers will often start to break down. However, there have been plenty of elite receivers who have remained productive into their mid-thirties, so the Jets would hope he has at least a few seasons left of being able to perform at a high level.

At least Adams has a good record of being durable over the course of his career. The most games he’s missed in a season was five and that was back when he was a rookie. He played every game over the past two seasons and has missed just three games in the past four years.

Verdict

It’s obvious that the Jets are aiming to create the best possible conditions for Rodgers to be successful with them and reuniting him with probably his favorite target ever seems like a no-brainer if they can get a deal done.

With the Raiders looking to start fresh after this year’s coaching change, they have the motivation to make such a deal as well, and Adams himself will obviously be keen.

This is a potential move that makes sense for both teams and the player himself. However, there are some other alternatives that are worth considering and we’ll also be weighing up some of these in due course.