The Raiders made several big moves during the 2022 offseason, including signing All-Pro EDGE rusher Chandler Jones and trading away Yannick Ngakoue for Rock Ya-Sin. It was a busy offseason for a team that thought they were just a few players away from being Super Bowl contenders.
But the biggest move that they made was trading away their first two picks in the 2022 NFL Draft to acquire Davante Adams. The idea was that Adams would elevate the play of Derek Carr and it would turn the offense into a juggernaut.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as Carr was benched and eventually released by the Raiders. However, the addition of Adams proved to be one of the best moves of the offseason as he went on to have arguably the best year of his career.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they named every team’s best off-season acquisition from 2022. For the Raiders, the choice was obvious. Here is what they had to say about Adams and his arrival last offseason:
“Adams had an incredible run with the Green Bay Packers and brought that magic with him to Las Vegas. Adams was a nightmare for defenses in the second half of the season, as he was targeted 105 times (second) and hauled in 62 catches (fifth) for 1,004 yards (second). Defenders had a hard time bringing him down, as he ranked second in yards after the catch (324) and recorded 132 yards after contact (fifth).
Adams was the definition of an offensive weapon. He could move the chains (42 first downs; third), put points on the board (nine touchdowns; first) and gain chunk yardage (25 explosive plays; second). Las Vegas will continue to rely heavily on his playmaking ability as it transitions to a new quarterback in 2023.”
Adams continued to show that he is one of the best receivers in football and that there are no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. While the Raiders are without a franchise quarterback going into the 2023 offseason, they have to know that any quarterback who does end up starting will have success because of the presence of Adams.
Making the move to trade for Adams continues to look better by the day for the Raiders.