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Adams Dominates Red Zone

The good news for the Packers is that Davante Adams has been a force in the red zone. The bad news?
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The best offenses have an element of unpredictability. The Green Bay Packers both have that unpredictability and are sorely lacking in unpredictability once it reaches the red zone.

The unpredictability comes with whether the Packers are going to throw or run. Over the last four seasons, no player has more red-zone receiving targets (100), yards (514) or touchdowns (32) than Davante Adams. Last year, however, Adams had only four red-zone touchdowns. No worries. Aaron Jones produced a league-high 15 red-zone rushing touchdowns to power a team that reached the NFC Championship Game.

The lack of unpredictability comes when the Packers do throw the football. That’s where Adams’ production is both a gift and a curse. With sublime route-running skills and the ability to elevate over defenders, Adams is a force at any spot on the field but especially in the red zone. However, without a legit No. 2 option in the passing game, the offense has become especially Adams-centric, meaning defenses have been able to lock in on No. 17.

According to Pro Football Focus, Adams was targeted on 45.1 percent of his red-zone routes last season. That was by far the highest rate in the NFL.

Moreover, according to Pro Football Reference, Adams had more red-zone targets than the next two Packers combined. Jones was second with 12 red-zone targets, followed by tight end Jimmy Graham with 10 and receiver Geronimo Allison with nine. Graham and Allison, of course, are no longer on the team, meaning a lopsided red-zone attack is now slanted even more heavily toward Adams.

In the red zone, Aaron Rodgers was 16-of-23 on passes to Adams. Taking the running backs out of the mix, Rodgers was only 18-of-36 for 134 yards and five touchdowns on his red-zone passes to the other receivers and tight ends.

Who can pick up the slack? The obvious answers, based on height alone, are receivers Allen Lazard and Devin Funchess. Lazard was targeted only four times in the red zone last season (two catches, 11 yards). Funchess missed almost all of last season due to injury but from 2015 through 2018, he caught 23-of-53 (43.4 percent) and scored 16 touchdowns.