The 2025 wide receiver free agent class isn’t exactly strong. With many of the top guys locked up, and Tee Higgins slapped with the franchise tag, there aren’t many impact options available. Following the New York Jets’ release of Davante Adams on March 4, there’s now a clear top guy.
Adams is nearing the end of his career but was still a relevant fantasy football asset last season. Where might Adams play in 2025, and what would each potential landing spot mean for his fantasy value?
Davante Adams’ Potential Landing Spots
After spending the first eight years of his career with the Green Bay Packers and looking like a lifer, Adams has bounced around over the past three years. He spent two full seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders before being traded midway through his third to the Jets. Now, Adams will be playing for a fourth different team in 2025…most likely.
This is a unique situation because the key factor where Adams ends up does not appear to be money, championship window, or need at wide receiver. Rather, Adams intends to go where Aaron Rodgers goes (unless that spot is retirement). With that in mind, here are a handful of places Adams could end up playing this season and what those would mean for fantasy football.
Green Bay Packers
Let’s start with the one spot that wouldn’t involve Adams following Rodgers. If Adams goes to a team without Rodgers, the most likely choice would be for him to return home to Green Bay.
The best landing spot for fantasy purposes would be somewhere Adams could be the WR1 but also wouldn’t destroy the fantasy value of another key wide receiver. The Packers are perfect.
While Adams would obviously have a massive negative effect on the Packers’ current WRs, it’s not as if any of them are high-end fantasy assets. Jayden Reed should still be able to post WR3 value, while Adams, assuming he still has another high-end year in him, has WR1 upside with Jordan Love. With the Packers, Adams would likely slot in as a high WR2 in fantasy rankings.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Currently the betting favorite to land Rodgers, the Steelers have room to bring Adams along with him. As we saw last year, it doesn’t matter if there’s a younger, arguably more talented WR (at this point in Adams’ career) on the team. Rodgers is going to throw the ball to his buddy.
Last season, Garrett Wilson averaged 16.57 fantasy points per game before Adams arrived. He was at 14.3 ppg after Adams joined the team. Most importantly, though, was the drop in volume.
Wilson averaged 11 targets per game without Adams against just 7.91 targets per game with him. Rodgers is going to prioritize Adams over every other receiver. If Wilson couldn’t maintain his WR1 status, there’s no way George Pickens will.
At the same time, Rodgers’ presence should lead to more passing volume, which has always been a problem for Pickens. Given Pickens’ status as a deep threat who is reliant on splash plays, his perceived fantasy value could end up taking a bigger hit than his actual fantasy value, making him a better pick in the process.
As for Rodgers, the target competition would really only be Pickens, making the Steelers one of the better landing spots for Adams, assuming Rodgers comes along with him.
New York Giants
For a couple of days, there was the possibility Malik Nabers would be the overall WR1 this year, as the Giants were aggressively pursuing Matthew Stafford. Anyone who watched Hard Knocks last season knows that Joe Schoen knew from the start that the Giants did not have a capable NFL starting quarterback on the roster.
After two disastrous years, the Giants are dead-set on getting a quarterback, whether it be trading up for Cam Ward or signing a veteran. With Stafford no longer an option, the Giants do have interest in Aaron Rodgers.
The fit wouldn’t be terrible for Adams to come along with him. The Giants don’t have a clear second option in the passing game behind Nabers. Unfortunately, Nabers’ status as one of the best WRs in the NFL likely wouldn’t be enough to keep him as the preferred option in the passing game ahead of Adams on a Rodgers-led offense.
I want to say Adams’ fantasy value would be worse on the Giants because of Nabers, but the unfortunate reality is this would likely be a significant hit to Nabers’ upside, while Adams would settle in as a mid-WR2. Fantasy managers should be rooting for the Giants to not sign Rodgers if it means Adams comes along with him.
Las Vegas Raiders
Moving on from Derek Carr hasn’t quite gone as expected for the Raiders. The cavalcade of misfits they deployed last season did nothing to inspire confidence. The Raiders’ 2025 starting quarterback is not currently on the roster.
Could Adams return to the Raiders one year after leaving? If the team signs Rodgers, absolutely. And perhaps even if they don’t.
While the assumption has been that Davante Adams wants to play with Aaron Rodgers (and historically, that's been the plan), my understanding is the pull of being on the West Coast is very real. https://t.co/FpUrl43vPh
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 4, 2025
A Rodgers/Adams pairing in Vegas would keep Adams as a high WR2 while burying Jakobi Meyers’ fantasy value. Brock Bowers would take a hit as well, albeit not as big of one, as he plays a different position. Bowers would still be the overall TE1 in this scenario.
New Orleans Saints
Alright, let’s throw in one more bonus team that doesn’t center around Rodgers. The first time Adams left the Packers was to play with his college quarterback, Derek Carr. If Rodgers and Adams can’t find a team to take them both, this seems like a logical alternative for Adams.
The Saints don’t necessarily need a WR, as Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are a perfectly fine duo. However, the Saints may not view Shaheed as a legitimate WR2. Meanwhile, Olave may be one concussion away from retirement.
Last season, the Saints found themselves in a situation where, due to injuries, they were starting WRs who shouldn’t even be active on game day. Adams would help prevent that from happening again.
Adams would undoubtedly be the WR1 ahead of Olave, but both could still be effective for fantasy, as Carr is not apt to force the ball to Adams as much as Rodgers. The real loser in this scenario would be Shaheed. Carr is not about to sustain three fantasy-relevant wide receivers. If Adams lands in New Orleans, he would be a high WR2, Olave a low WR2, and Shaheed more of a WR4/5.