A lot of people were eagerly awaiting the connection between Derek Carr and Davante Adams in their first game as Raiders. And once they took the field, they didn’t make anyone wait to see it.
On the very first play, Carr connected with his former Fresno State receiver for 11 yards. Carr would look to Adams four more times on the first drive, and connect with him a total of three times for 54 yards.
By the end of the game, Adams had more targets (17), catches (10), and yards (141) than the rest of the Raider receivers combined. And that’s including Darren Waller.
Coming into the season, Adams said he didn’t really know what to expect from the offensive game plan. I asked him if he was surprised at all with the kind of volume he had in this game.
“No. Not at all. I mean that’s what they brought me here for, to be a big part of this offense and help move the ball and put points on the board,” said Adams. “That’s my job. That’s what I’m ready to do, I’m a volume type guy so I’m always ready for that and if the game goes any other type of way then we’ll adjust and we’ll do that too. But that means that somebody else is probably handling their business and we’re able to move the ball. The most important part is for this offense and team to do well, obviously, but if I’m a big part of it on any given week, I’m expecting that.”
The two men who put up crazy numbers at Fresno State and clearly they weren’t in need of any kind of acclimation period to find the same page.
Generally speaking, it wasn’t seamless. After all, there were seven passes to Adams that weren’t completed; one of which was intercepted.
There was, though, one of Carr’s two touchdown passes on which Adams made an impressive grab that put the Raiders within one score late.
Adams kept the touchdown ball as a memento as his first touchdown with the Raiders.
“It’s kind of I turned the page and kind of starting a new chapter in my career for my childhood team,” Adams said of why the ball is special to him. “It’s something that mean a lot to me. Obviously didn’t end up winning the game with it, but at the end of the day it still means a lot.”
There will be more touchdowns and more days like this for Adams. After all, he put up double digit catches five times last season with the Packers. At some point he’ll be able to celebrate these kinds of days with a win.
