Adams To Jets: Davante Adams Traded To New York Jets (Fantasy Impact)
Well, there you have it. Sometimes rampant internet speculation IS right. Per Ian Rappoport, following their loss on Monday Night Football, Davante Adams has been traded to the New York Jets from the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Jets will go all in on winning now with Aaron Rodgers’ former teammate Davante Adams joining Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and former Packer Allen Lazard on this offense. Obviously, the trade has big-time NFL implications as the Raiders look to the future and the Jets focus on the present.
But there are also fantasy football implications that could affect the outcomes the rest of the season. Let’s take a look at the trade first and then what it means for each team and their fantasy assets. The trade is contingent on Davante Adams passing a physical so we still need confirmation of that but there here are the details as we know it.
Raiders Trade Adams To Jets
New York Jets Get
Las Vegas Raiders Get
- Conditional 3rd Round Pick
- Jets pick up remainder of Adams's contract
New York Jets Fantasy Implications
Fantasy Football Winners
The obvious winner number one is Aaron Rodgers, who links up with superstar wide receiver Davante Adams once again. The Jets didn’t give up any players in the deal going back, so there’s no downside here in fantasy for Rodgers himself.
Davante Adams finished as a top five WR in fantasy on four different occasions playing with Aaron Rodgers. We’ve seen how well Rodgers has linked up with former teammate Allen Lazard, so the two should be back on the same page in no time.
You could argue there will be fewer targets to go around, but the designed plays and dump downs that backs get really don’t have much to do with Adams. More importantly, the offense as a whole will be better. You have to move the ball to score and run-heavy game scripts are often the luxury of the winning team.
- Jets DST
The more time the defense spends off the field, the more rested they are. The more desperate the other team becomes, the more likely they are to get aggressive and turn the ball over. This is a sneaky winner for fantasy football.
Fantasy Football Losers
This is where the targets are going to hurt some. He’ll still be a top two target on the team but even guys like Joe Burrow or Jalen Hurts have trouble consistently feeding Tee Higgins and DeVonta Smith with another star there. Garrett Wilson should still be a decent start, but the odds of him being the league-breaking WR1 you hoped for when you drafted him in the first round are likely dashed.
There is a world obviously where the targets are highly consolidated and maybe we DO have a situation like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. In that case the value for Wilson could be neutral of possibly even improved. But, in all likelihood, it will end up being at least a slight negative for Wilson, especially in terms of upside. There's certainly no reason to fire the ball at him 20 times anymore like they did against the Vikings.
It is incredibly rare for a team to have three pass catchers all get 100+ targets. And 100+ targets is the barrier to entry you need to be a WR2 (last year only Deebo Samuel did it without 100+ targets and he scored five rushing TDs). Lazard will still be in line for the sporadic TD but they may be more sporadic than ever.
Every top 12 tight end in PPR last year was a top two target on the team. That was already a tall order for Tyler Conklin.
After Aaron Rodgers called him out for running the wrong route on a game-losing interception, I cannot imagine Mike Williams sees the field a whole lot with this new configuration.
Las Vegas Raiders Fantasy Implications
Fantasy Football Winners
- Every Pass Catcher
This doesn’t need to be some deep analysis. You take a wide receiver away that has commanded 10+ targets a game for six straight years, including both years on the Raiders, and there are more targets to go around.
We’ve actually seen a couple games of it now with Adams out. Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers are the obvious beneficiaries but guys like Tre Tucker and DJ Turner will get additional looks as well. Harrison Bryant could be a DFS dart throw until Michael Mayer gets back.
Fantasy Football Losers
Whether it’s Gardner Minshew or AOC, life is a lot easier when you have a Hall of Fame Caliber wide receiver out there. There’s really no way to spin this as a good thing.
- Raiders Running Backs
Like we said in the Breece Hall/Braelon Allen section, running is the luxury of the winning team. This team is clearly making moves with the future in mind which is not good news for the running game.
Player News
Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa caught 2-of-3 targets for 46 yards in Thursday’s Hall-of-Fame Game against the Chargers.
The rookie third-rounder has a stunningly athletic profile on paper, and it was translating on the preseason field against the Bolts’ second- and third-team defenders. Capable of being used all over the field — including as a special teams gunner — TeSlaa is the kind of player who could get on the field earlier than expected and quickly multiply his playing time. We just haven’t seen or read anything to lead us to believe he’s ready to make a 2025 impact in 12-team re-draft leagues. Admittedly, it’s early. TeSlaa is worth keeping an eye on.
Chargers WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught 2-of-2 targets for 43 yards and a touchdown in Thursday’s Hall-of-Fame Game against the Lions.
The blazing-fast fifth-round rookie was facing second- and third-team defenders, but he was blowing by them. That’s what he’s reportedly been doing in the early days of Bolts camp, as well. There are snaps and routes for the taking in this receiver corps, and the Day 3 pick is at least putting himself in the mix. All that being said, there’s a long way to go between now and Week 1.
Chargers QB Trey Lance completed 13-of-20 passes for 120 passes and two touchdowns in Thursday’s Hall-of-Fame Game against the Lions.
The former first-rounder tacked on three rushes for eight yards. Lance started and played the first three quarters. Battling Taylor Heinicke for No. 2 duties behind Justin Herbert, Lance is getting more extended preseason run because of how little he has played in the regular campaign. Heinicke didn’t dress this evening. Lance is presumably the higher upside option, but Heinicke is guaranteed slightly more money. It’s not out of the question the Bolts keep three quarterbacks, but that is no longer the norm in the modern NFL.
Omarion Hampton rushed two times for nine yards in the Chargers’ Hall of Fame Game against the Lions.
Hampton surprisingly logged six snaps in this one. PFF credits him with one missed tackle forced and 3.5 yards after contact per carry. The rookie looked spry on his two touches, though his ADP will hopefully remain in place given the light workload.
The Steelers were observed using four-tight end sets after Jonnu Smith (undisclosed) returned to practice this week.
Smith was featured as a receiver out of the backfield on one such play. Steelers OC Arthur Smith told The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo that “everybody’s got a different skill set” and he hopes to “see how we can put ourselves in the best advantageous position on Sundays.” DeFabo notes that “some stats suggest that every time the Steelers put an additional tight end on the field last year, they became less efficient.” Distributing the ball down the tight end depth chart won’t help the Steelers’ star players score fantasy points either. Hopefully, things change in a hurry.
Cowboys CB Shavon Revel Jr. suffered a setback in his recovery from a torn ACL and will not be ready for Week 1.
The Cowboys’ cornerback corps is in rough shape. Trevon Diggs and Josh Butler are both recovering from knee surgery and Caelen Carson is out 4-to-6 weeks with a hyperextended knee. Revel’s expected return-to-play date is unknown.