Why has Davante Adams disappeared from the Raiders’ passing game?

Davante Adams has toggled between inefficient and invisible in the Raiders’ passing game. Why is this so, and how can Josh McDaniels fix it?

In receiver Davante Adams’ first regular-season game with the Las Vegas Raiders, against the Los Angeles Chargers, the ball distribution from quarterback Derek Carr went about as expected. Carr threw to his former Fresno State teammate 15 times, and Adams caught 10 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. That’s about what you’d want from an above-average quarterback throwing to the NFL’s best receiver, particularly a receiver for whom the Raiders gave up as much as they did.

In March, the Raiders gave the Green Bay Packers their first- and a second-round pick — the 22nd and 53rd selections in the 2022 draft — for Adams, and they then signed Adams to a five-year, $140 million contract with $65.67 million in guaranteed money. Adams chose his college teammate over Aaron Rodgers, and given the ways in which Adams can just scorch any pass defense, it was clear that the Raiders saw Adams as the final key to unlock their passing game under new head coach and offensive shot-caller Josh McDaniels.

In the Chargers game, that was the case. Since then, it has not been — and it has not been in a clear fashion. Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2, and against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3, Adams caught a total of seven passes on a total of 15 targets for 48 yards. Adams did catch a touchdown pass in each of his games, but given the fact that the Raiders are now 0-3 in games they’ve lost by a total of 13 points, one wonders how that might be different if Adams had been more productive in either of those last two games.

The most glaring and ugly statistic here? Carr has targeted Adams on six passes of 20 or more air yards, and Adams has no catches on those targets. Zero, zip, nada. Last season with the Packers, Adams was one of the NFL’s better deep receivers, catching 13 passes of 20 or more air yards on 27 targets for 453 yards and two touchdowns.

If that isn’t the most glaring and ugly statistic regarding this new partnership, it’s only because this one is.

In the Raiders’ 24-22 loss to the Titans on Sunday, receiver Mack Hollins had a career day, with ctaches on 10 targets for 158 yards and a touchdown to Adams’ five on 10 targets for 36 yards and a score. Hollins excelled with deep catches, and all of that got him on this week’s Secret Superstars team.

That’s a nice story, but Adams is now the one who’s being treated like a secret to his own coaches and quarterback. And the issues go further than the simple idea that the Raiders are using Adams as a decoy to open things up for other targets.

Let’s get forensic, and work to the heart of this unexpected dysfunction.