[jwplayer cfZzcYxP-ThvAeFxT]
One of the NFL’s most prolific touchdown-catching wide receivers is long overdue for his first touchdown catch of the 2019 season.
It won’t happen this week. Davante Adams and the Green Bay Packers are on a bye in Week 11.
But it’s hard to believe Adams, who caught 36 touchdown passes between 2016-18, still doesn’t have a touchdown catch during the 2019 season.
Consider this: Adams is one of only four wide receivers with at least 40 targets and no touchdown catches this season, joining Demaryius Thomas, Mike Williams and Robert Woods.
In almost every other way, Adams is having a terrific season. He’s averaging 13.8 yards per catch and 9.4 yards per target while catching 68.4 percent of his targets, all career highs. He has 28 first downs on 39 catches, good for a first-down percentage of 71.7.
Pro Football Focus has Adams rated as the sixth-best overall receiver in the NFL after 10 games.
Somehow, he’s 0-for-6 catching touchdown passes in games played this season. His last touchdown catch was a game-winning score against the New York Jets in Week 16 of last season.
Touchdown production is generally unpredictable, but this is uncharted territory for Adams, a two-time Pro Bowler.
Between 2016 and 2018, Adams never had anything more than a two-game streak without a touchdown catch. He produced 28 total games over those three seasons with at least one touchdown, the most in the NFL.
Adams missed four games with a turf toe injury and has otherwise taken a backseat in the scoring area to running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, who have 20 total scores this season.
It’s possible teams will start keying on the running backs over the final six games of the season, and Adams – a dominant red-zone receiver – could be the perfect counterpunch for playcaller Matt LaFleur. The bye week might provide an opportunity for LaFleur to devise a few new ways of getting the ball to No. 17 to finish drives.
To his credit, Adams doesn’t really care about scoring touchdowns. Last Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, Jones scored three times on the ground to power a 24-16 win.
“Hey, man, if we are 8-2 with Aaron Jones scoring 82 touchdowns, then that’s fine. I love it. I love seeing him go over there,” Adams said Sunday in the locker room. “I think I get in better shape chasing his ass down, going over to the end zone to find him every time, so it’s great, man. Happy about it.”
When will Adams’ first touchdown arrive? The Packers travel next week to San Francisco, providing a homecoming of sorts for Adams, who grew up in the area and went to college at Fresno State.
[lawrence-related id=34897,34738]
[vertical-gallery id=34794]