The Green Bay Packers are entering the 2020 NFL season with high hopes of competing for a Super Bowl appearance. After finishing the 2019 season with a 13-3 record and a trip to the NFC Championship Game, they are confident that they can accomplish their goal. Davante Adams will have a big part to play in the quest for another title.
Last season, the Packers once again relied far too heavily on their star wide receiver. Adams missed some time due to a toe injury, but was still by far their best wideout. Allen Lazard ended up being the No. 2 option, but he was nowhere near as productive as Adams.
During the 2019 season, Adams ended playing in 12 games. In those 12 games, he caught 83 passes for 997 yards and five touchdowns. Due to missing some time due to injuries, Adams cannot be judged fully off his production last season.
Back in 2018 with the Packers, however, Adams broke onto the scene in a huge way. He missed one game, but caught 111 passes for 1,386 yards and 13 touchdowns. Those numbers placed him among the NFL’s elite at the wide receiver position.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, there are quite a few differing opinions of where Adams belongs in the league-wide receiver rankings. Some have him in the top-three, while others don’t even have him in the top five.
All of that being said, let’s dive in and take a look at where Davante Adams belongs in the current wide receiver rankings.
5. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
Coming in at No. 5, the Chiefs’ star is without question worthy of being mentioned on this list. He is coming off of another big season that saw him rack up 58 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. Those numbers came in just 12 games.
Back in 2018, Hill racked up 87 receptions for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is one of the top playmakers in the game and has the luxury of playing with Patrick Mahomes. Hill comes in at No. 5 and is going to have yet another massive season for the Chiefs.
4. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
This is where we have to rank the Packers’ star wideout. While he has a chance to increase his ranking with a huge season in 2020, he simply cannot be ranked ahead of the next three guys on this list.
Adams has had to deal with being the only true threat at wide receiver in Green Bay for quite some time. The Packers didn’t get him much help this offseason, although they are hoping for a lot of development from their young receivers. If they don’t receive much improvement from their young players, Adams will have to face double teams quite often once again this season.
It will be interesting to see what the Packers’ offense looks like this season. However, they will need their star wideout to come through with a huge season if they want to compete for a championship.
3. DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
The biggest move of the offseason came when the Houston Texans decided to trade superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals. Quite possibly the most surprising part of the entire trade was the fact that the Texans didn’t even get a first-round pick in return for one of the best wideouts in the game.
Hopkins is without question one of the most feared players in the entire NFL. He put together another huge season in 2019 with Houston, catching 104 passes for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns.
While he won’t be playing alongside Deshaun Watson anymore, he will be playing with Kyler Murray. Murray is one of the rising stars in the NFL and Hopkins will fit in nicely with Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. Hopkins is in line for an impressive season.
2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
Obviously, the top two options on this list will be hard to disagree with. Even though he may not have had the touchdown numbers that some would like to see from him in recent years, Julio Jones still firmly belongs in the No. 2 spot on this list.
Last season with the Falcons, Jones put together another impressive season. He caught 99 passes for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns. He is projected to have another big season in 2020. Matt Ryan and Jones have been one of the NFL’s elite quarterback-wide receiver duos in recent history and that will not change this season.
Atlanta could looks to utilize Jones even more. Defenses will have to focus on slowing down Calvin Ridley as well, who is expected to take a big step forward. Jones will put up the numbers that fans are expecting and possibly even more.
1. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
Finally, there was no debate about who would come in at No. 1 in the NFL. Michael Thomas has earned this spot and it doesn’t look like he will relinquish it anytime soon. He has become the focal point of the Saints’ dynamic offense and is nearly impossible for any defense to stop.
Thomas caught 149 passes last season to go along with 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns. His touchdown numbers could rise a bit, but the other numbers are off the charts.
New Orleans will rely heavily on Thomas once again this season. They did bring in Emmanuel Sanders in free agency, but he shouldn’t impact Thomas’ numbers too much. Thomas belongs at No. 1 and very few will even try to debate it.
