Fantasy Football: Best, worst potential landing spots for Davante Adams

At this point, there's enough smoke surrounding the Davante Adams trade rumors that it's time to start looking for the fire. We convened an emergency trade task force of Jake Ciely, KC Joyner, Gary Davenport, John Laghezza and Brandon Funston to explore the potential fantasy implications of an Adams deal, including the best and worst landing spots, and who would benefit most from an Adams deal . departure among the remaining Raiders.

We use as a catalyst for this exercise The Athletics's recent column on trade proposals from Davante Adams, in which eight writers from NFL teams offered as a starting point proposals that their teams could offer to make a deal.

The only answer here where Adams would be the clear No. 1 and commit some offense to maintain his Top 15 value is the Bills. You can argue with the Rams, but that would require Cooper Kupp to be done for the year. Adams would probably be the No. 1 pick for the Saints, but Chris Olave is too good to let Adams get a 30% target share with the Jets, and Rodgers looks washed out. Justin Fields/Russell Wilson can't even get George Pickens into the Top 25 on his own. Jayden Daniels is a great, but similar situation to Terry McLaurin as Pickens. CeeDee Lamb is the No. 1 pick in Dallas, which hurts Adams, and people need to stop mentioning the Ravens every time a potential trade happens. Stop. They don't need it. So as much as I like the breakout for my man Khalil Shakir, it's the Bills and Josh Allen. Ciely

Among this group, the Bills are the only team with an elite quarterback and no true No. 1 wide receiver (healthy or injured) who also has the potential for a pass-centric approach. Every other club on this list can check off one or two of these items, but Buffalo is the only one to check off all three. Joyner

There's no real point in talking about the best fantasy fit. It's going to be Washington. The commanders check all the boxes. NFC team. Cap space. And with Jayden Daniels guiding them to a 3-1 start, a new owner would be foolish not to send the fanbase into a stupor by making a quick move to land another offensive weapon. Washington might be a small step back, as Adam's fantasy production goals would go down, but better goals and less attention from opponents would offset that somewhat. The real story there would be Terry McLaurin, who was starting to heat up. Cue the bagpipes on the escape. I hope the commanders do it. Those fans deserve to see daylight. It has been in the basement for a long time. Davenport

As Adams turns 32 this Christmas Eve, the best combinations are limited to teams within their competitive window, so say goodbye to LAR, WAS and PIT. Who is the best team with the most pass-heavy approach that also desperately needs a second source of WR explosiveness? It's the Dallas Cowboys. Imagine adding a premiere piece like Adams to Brian Schottenheimer's offense while working opposite CeeDee Lamb, wow! Weakness

I'm going with another team from New York in the Jets. First, we saw what happened to Stefon Diggs when the Bills handed the play-calling duties to Joe Brady midway through last season, including the postseason. He averaged 42.2 yards and scored just one touchdown in his last 10 games. The Bills are still playing it conservatively, going 9-2 in the regular season since making that move, averaging just 26 pass attempts per game, compared to 34 for the Jets. It's clear that Aaron Rodgers and Adams have an established relationship, and adding Adams to the lineup will likely open up more for September prospects Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. Funston

Do you think any of these eight teams would represent a step down from Las Vegas for Adams in terms of fantasy upside? If so, which team and why?

See my first answer. Every team is a downgrade outside of the Bills and Rams (without Kupp). Reminder: Adams was WR18 in FPPG on 175 targets last year. The catch rate would be better on most, but he doesn't see that volume on most, if any, of these potential new teams. Ciely

Fantasy managers may not want to see Adams go to Pittsburgh. The Steelers have built their roster with a ground-and-pound approach. That will minimize passing attempts and the competition with George Pickens for vertical passing could make this a lateral or negative move for Adams. Joyner

Pittsburgh is the disaster scenario here, and it's not just because I'm a Browns fan that it's a disaster. The Steelers adding Adams wouldn't drastically change an offense that ranks 25th in pass attempts and averages less than 190 passing yards per game. Pittsburgh wasn't going to suddenly open things up. All it would do is decimate the fantasy value of both Adams and George Pickens, unless Adams assimilates Pickens as the Borg and also gets credit for his stats. Davenport

It's easy to understand Adam's production as a Raider, but fantasy football is still about opportunity and he has earned over 30% of the team's target share for his current team. That makes any team without the potential for double-digit goal loads like BUF, NYJ, WAS or PIT a step back. Weakness

Baltimore would be a step back. Since 2018, the team has produced just one Top 25 fantasy WR (PPR PTS). Adams would join Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely in the support group for Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. I have no doubt that if Adams were to go to Baltimore, it would be a rollercoaster ride of production, with at least as many downs as ups. Funston

Outside of these eight teams, is there another team (not listed) with a plausible need for Adams that you think would be a better fit? If so, why?

Obviously the Chiefs make sense, but that doesn't happen. The only other team I could see in the Top 25 ahead of Adams is the Falcons. Kyle Pitts is a mismatch at tight end, but overmatched as a receiver, and it just doesn't work when used in a hybrid style. Put Adams with Drake London and Kirk Cousins, and yes, that could work. Ciely

Kansas City's passing game hasn't been great (to put it kindly), which is why Patrick Mahomes is on a career-long streak of nine games with fewer than 20 fantasy points. Adams would be a huge boon for the Chiefs, but there is likely very little chance the Raiders will three-peat their AFC West rival. Joyner

Arizona maybe? Kyler Murray with Adams, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride could make for an interesting offense, and that team isn't as far off from things as some with better records. Dallas will always be the one that got away from Dak Prescott by throwing 60 passes to Adams and CeeDee Lamb, a matchup in shootouts every week because the Cowboys can't even run the ball a little bit, that would have been nice. Davenport

If the Chargers want to push for the playoffs after four weeks (2-2), they could make a run for Adams. Los Angeles has a unique combination of above-average coaching and quarterback talent with a target void that could use a dynamic pass-catcher. Weakness

I'm with Jake on the Falcons. We've seen Darnell Mooney's career revived in Atlanta (WR34), and Adams would probably look even better playing opposite Drake London and if Cousins ​​threw him the ball. Funston

Assuming Las Vegas doesn't get a starting skill position player in exchange for Adams, which of the current Raiders skill position players will see the biggest increase in fantasy value in his absence?

It's Tre Tucker. Simple. He's in the WR3 conversation without Adams (hurt). He would be a weekly starter in most half and full PPR leagues. Ciely

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is the percentage answer, as he had 10 targets last week with Adams out of the lineup. Brock Bowers is the hopeful answer, as tight end scoring has been abysmal this year and fantasy managers would be happy to see him return to his scoring pace from Weeks 1-2, which saw him put up 30.6 PPR points over that two-game span . Joyner

Meyers and Bowers would appear to be the biggest beneficiaries. The problem is, we saw what an Adams-less Raiders passing attack looked like in last week's win over Cleveland. It wasn't pretty. Meyers had more goals than PPR fantasy points. Bowers was largely irrelevant. The Raiders average 76.3 yards on the ground per game, last in the AFC. Things won't get better without Adams. Meyers is a capable NFL receiver, but he doesn't command double teams. Neither does Bowers, at least not yet. Essentially, without Adams, the Raiders are the Patriots with a worse run game but a better No. 1 wideout and tight end. If something better than the Patriots doesn't get your imagination flowing, check the tank. It may be dry. Davenport

The future face of the franchise, Brock Bowers, is the easy answer. Without Adams on Sunday, Luke Getsy and the Raiders reconfigured their default personnel. They ran 2-TE sets on nearly double the snaps, resulting in a season-high route participation for this year's 13th overall pick. Weakness

The team was high on Tre Tucker coming into the season and I can definitely see them letting him go. He's already percolating, averaging 13 PPR PPG over the past two weeks. I appreciate Meyers, but he's the Joey Knis of the NFL, a low-stakes player who goes on to earn his salary of 70 catches and 800 yards every season, but rarely more. Funston

(Top photo of Davante Adams: Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)