The Green Bay Packers will face the Las Vegas Raiders for their Week Five matchup on Monday Night Football. This game presents the Packers with the opportunity to go into their Bye Week with a record over .500 against one of the more beatable teams in the NFL.
Additionally, this game marks the first time that Green Bay will face their former star wide receiver Davante Adams since trading him to the Raiders ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The matchup of Adams versus Jaire Alexander has been one of the most anticipated battles since the 2023 NFL schedule was released. Recently, Adams spoke about going up against Alexander in practice for years and how they helped each other become the players that they are now.
As it turns out, Alexander is not the only current Packers player upon whom Adams has had a profound impact. Running back Aaron Jones recently talked about his relationship with the All-Pro wide receiver and how he helped mold him into the player he is today as well.
Green Bay Packers Running Back Aaron Jones and Las Vegas Raiders Wide Receiver Davante Adams Were Teammates for 5 Years
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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The Packers drafted Jones in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. By the time he reached the NFL, Adams had been a professional for three seasons. His breakout year came the year before Jones arrived when he posted 75 receptions for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns.
In 2017, Adams made his first Pro Bowl, posting 74 receptions for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns. It was the first of five consecutive Pro Bowls Adams would make with the Packers (he made another with the Raiders last season), giving the young rookie running back a front seat look at what it takes to be a successful skill player in the NFL.
It was not long before Adams and Jones formed one of the best running back-wide receiver combinations in the NFL. In 2019, Jones led the NFL with 19 total touchdowns while putting up over 1,550 all-purpose yards. For his part, Adams added 83 receptions for 997 yards and five touchdowns that year.
In 2020, Adams led the NFL with 18 receiving touchdowns and receiving yards per game (98.1). Jones had rushed for a career-high (at the time) 1,104 yards (his second-consecutive 1,000-yard season) and scored 11 all-purpose touchdowns.
2021 saw more of the same. Adams set the Packers’ record for receiving yards in a season with 1,553 and scored 11 touchdowns. Jones put up 1,190 all-purpose yards and 10 total touchdowns himself.
From 2017 through 2021, the years Jones and Adams were teammates, they accounted for 11,806 yards from scrimmage and 110 touchdowns.
Aaron Jones Says Davante Adams Was Like His Big Brother on the Green Bay Packers
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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After practice on Thursday, Ryan Wood of USA Today asked Jones what Adams’ mentorship meant to him when he first entered the NFL. Jones replied:
Aaron Jones on what Davante Adams’ mentorship meant to him early in his career. #Packers RB still refers to Adams as his “big brother.” pic.twitter.com/uXgdKXVbr4
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) October 5, 2023
It is very interesting that in an era where wide receivers are commonly labeled as divas, that term has never been applied to Adams, nor have any of his teammates had a negative thing to say about him. He truly is a one-of-kind player, both on the field and off of it.
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