Adams on Pace to Take Down Hutson

In 1942, Don Hutson had one of the great seasons in NFL history. Davante Adams is on track to break one of his remarkable records. “Everyone knows he’s going to get the ball,” Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Nov 12, 2020 3:28 PM EST

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 1942, Green Bay Packers legend Don Hutson had one of the most remarkable seasons in football history. In 11 games, he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns. Playing long before today’s pass-happy era, Hutson’s yardage total was almost more than the next three players in the league combined.

Hutson’s 110.1 receiving yards per game, as you might expect, set an NFL record and established a franchise record that stands today.

Almost 80 years later, Davante Adams has caught 53 passes for 675 yards and eight touchdowns in his six games. Adams’ 112.5 receiving yards per game are by far the most in the NFL this season – Seattle’s DK Metcalf is second with 98.5 yards per game. If he maintains that pace for the rest of the season, not only would he take down Hutson but it would be the seventh-best season in NFL history.

After obliterating the San Francisco 49ers last week, Adams didn’t shy away from a question about whether he considered himself the best receiver in the NFL.

He didn’t on Wednesday, either.

“I’ll stand by that any day of the week,” Adams said. “I feel like I’ve got the body of work and consistency to prove it, but nobody is Muhammad Ali. People aren’t coming out in postgame interviews saying, ‘I’m the greatest.’ That’s not what it’s about. It’s about I know what I’m about, I know what I do, and I know I truly feel like nobody can cover me. So, when I get my one-on-one opportunities, I try to show that I can’t be guarded. That’s just a mentality and a mind-set. So it’s the confidence that I have based off of the work that I put in and the success that I’ve had, obviously.”

The opposing coach on Sunday, Jacksonville’s Doug Marrone, knows the challenge that awaits his defense. Since returning from a hamstring injury, leads the NFL with 36 receptions, 483 yards and six touchdowns. Of those three-dozen receptions, a league-leading 26 have produced first downs. Only seven players even have 26 receptions during that span.

“Everyone knows he’s going to get the ball,” Marrone said in a conference call on Wednesday. “You’ve just got to try to contest throws and try to make sure the run after catch is controlled. He’s having an outstanding year. He’s probably a guy you would think would get a whole lot more publicity. You watch him on film, I think it’s very difficult to say who’s playing better than he is right now.”

As Adams made clear after the game and again on Wednesday, he can’t do it alone. His production requires accurate passes from Aaron Rodgers, protection from the offensive line and sharply run routes from the other players.

It also requires new ways for coach Matt LaFleur and his staff to get the NFL’s most productive receiver the ball.

“I think it’s important when you have a receiver of his caliber to give him his opportunities,” LaFleur said. “If they decide to give him one-on-one opps, then he’s in position for those. But you’ve also got to be mindful that it’s very easy if he is by himself to cloud him and to take him away in that regard. I think the more you can keep the defense on their toes and move him around, the better off it is and easier it is to get him the football.”

Against the 49ers, Adams posted his third game this season of 10-plus catches, 150-plus yards and at least one touchdown. That tied Calvin Johnson’s NFL single-season record, an incredible feat considering Adams has played only five full games.

Is Adams the best receiver in the NFL? That’s a question that’s almost impossible to answer, but the statistics show total domination by a man asked to carry the load in the passing game.

“I definitely would never retract that statement ever,” he said. “I expect every receiver who’s in that conversation in the league [to believe that]. You ask DeAndre Hopkins or you ask Julio Jones who’s the best receiver, I don’t expect them, even if they did think it was me, I would expect them to say it was them because that’s the kind of mentality you should have. That’s not me saying that I said I’m the best because I feel like I should say that. Obviously, I feel like I should, but I do also believe that it’s true.”