Watching Davante Adams dominate defenders on the field, it’s easy to see what makes him special. He’s a supreme route runner, he’s long, he’s fast, and he can high-point the ball like few others can.
Jimmy Garoppolo stepped on the practice field with his new All Pro receiver for the first time Tuesday and immediately recognized the kind of elite talent he had on the other end of his throws.
“It was cool, man,” Garoppolo said of working with Adams for the first time. “We came out in the same draft class. I always watched Davante, always thought he was one of the best in the league if not the best. It’s just as a quarterback it gives you a sense of relief almost to have a guy like that.”
“On one of the routes I threw him, I asked him if he was going full speed. Because he’s just so smooth, man, it looks effortless. I thought I overthrew him on one of the deep balls and he ended up getting to it. So, it was just things like that. It’s a luxury as a quarterback to have a guy like that. I just got to get used to it. It was really cool and I’m glad to have him.”
But what if I told you it’s more than just Adams’s talent that makes him great?
Davante isn’t just one of those ‘throw it up for me and I’ll go get it’ type of receivers. There’s a reason Aaron Rodgers threw to him an average of 142 times per season over their last six seasons together. It’s because Adams knows how to be a friendly receiver to his QB. Garoppolo discovered that as well.
“He sees it very similar to a quarterback which as a quarterback, makes you feel great,” Garroppolo continued.
“Most receivers just tell me the route they want to run and they run the route. He was kind of talking the talk and I was like ‘this guy is seeing what I’m seeing’. Just throw it early rather than later, just little things like that. It’s pretty cool, man.
Garoppolo was sure not to get too far ahead of himself with any talk of chemistry, adding “We got a long way to go, me and him, but we’re off to a good start.”
But Adams is clearly one of those receivers who you know will get the most of out of his quarterback.
