Davante Adams just finished as a top-10 fantasy receiver at age 32, which is an accomplishment in its own right. How he got there should give fantasy managers real pause. Nearly half his production came from a single source that history says will not repeat. The price has come down for 2026, though probably not nearly enough.
Should You Draft Davante Adams in Fantasy Football?
Adams is a wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams. For me, the answer is no. No with a bullet.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Packers fan. I saw a lot of peak Adams. He’s a great receiver, a Hall of Famer, and he had a great season last year. He scored 14 touchdowns, led the league for the Rams, and helped Matthew Stafford win an MVP. All of that’s being factored in and baked in way out of the price range that I’m willing to pay here for a receiver that’s well past his prime. I think we can agree with that.
As of early September, he’s being picked around pick 50 overall. That is crazy. He needs to return 90% to 95% of what he did a season ago to pay off that sort of investment. That’s asking a lot.
I don’t think this team gets to the red zone nearly the way it did a season ago. The Rams had 76 red-zone appearances. Seventy-six. That easily led the league. It was one of the better rates of the past decade. If that’s 66, or God forbid if that drips to 60, you’re looking at all kinds of issues. Kyren Williams is going to get plenty of work in the red zone. He proved he could score touchdowns. That’s going to happen. Blake Corum’s going to do it, too.
What if, God forbid, Matthew Stafford shows some signs of age? Father Time’s going to kick in on all of us. He was a back concern this time last year. He was a flight risk. We weren’t sure. We were dipping Puka Nacua down draft boards because maybe Matthew Stafford’s done, maybe he’s cooked. Twelve months later, those discussions are done just because he won an MVP. He didn’t get younger. I don’t think he aged backwards. This isn’t a Dorian Gray situation.
To me, with Adams, you’re paying for last year’s production. Half of his PPR points came in the end zone, not the red zone, not the 30-yard line, not the opponent’s half of the field, but with his feet in the paint. That is absolutely insane. That’s not going to happen again. If it does, if half of his production comes that way, he’s scoring 150 points, not 220.
I think with Adams you’re paying way too much for what we saw a season ago. Last season he hit a parlay. Does that mean you run the same thing back in Week 2? No. No, it doesn’t. You don’t have to be an experienced or even a good bettor to know that.
I think you’re going way overboard with Adams in round 4 or 5. Not for me in 2026. That’s a pass on Adams.
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Davante Adams’ Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
How many times do you think Adams led the Rams in receiving yards last season?
He did it 3 times, and 2 of them came against these Niners.
I can’t really explain it. San Francisco completely lost track of him at various points (77 yards in the fourth quarter of the first meeting and 48 in Q1 of the second meeting, both of which were season highs for those quarters), something we didn’t see much of at any other point during the season when it comes to a largely touchdown-dependent Adams.
Nacua was quiet, I guess, by his standards in those games (74.5 receiving yards per game without a 25-yard grab), but this wasn’t a sell-out to stop him situation that allowed Adams to thrive.
He just kind of beat them, and we saw some of this in the San Fran profile last season. Of the top-10 WR point totals they allowed, 3 came against low-expectation players (Greg Dortch, Xavier Hutchinson, and Kameron Johnson), so maybe there is something to this scheme.
For the record, I’m not an Adams guy for this season. I think this team can hurt you in too many ways for him to repeat what he did a year ago and that the floor is far too low for me to commit to locking him into lineups for the long haul, but until this specific defense can slow him, I’m fine with considering him a top-20 play this week across all formats.
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Where Adams Ranks Among 2026 Wide Receivers
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Josh Downs | IND
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
Want to dive in more? PFN’s Complete PPR Wide Receiver Rankings are updated weekly.
