Davante Adams or DK Metcalf? Best Receiver Fit for Packers

The NFL offseason will move into a new gear when the so-called legal tampering period begins on Monday.

Every offseason, without fail, there are discussions surrounding the Green Bay Packers’ receiving corps. If reporting and betting odds are to be believed, it appears the Packers agree they need to add a big-time playmaker to Jordan Love’s stable of receivers with either Davante Adams, who was released by the Jets, or DK Metcalf, who has for a trade from the Seahawks.

Both players are enticing and would be big upgrades to Green Bay’s receiver room. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks failed to make a big leap into stardom in 2024. By the end of the season, their top three options were injured. Watson and Reed needed surgery and Doubs suffered two concussions, including a scary one in the playoff loss to the Eagles.

Added together, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst might try to make a big splash over the next several days.

With Adams and Metcalf on the market, they can add only one. This is not fantasy football, as Ted Thompson used to quip.

With that in mind, who is the best player to add to Green Bay’s offense? Here is our take, considering the contract and compensation required.

The Case for the Packers Trading for DK Metcalf

The first point might be the most important one to Gutekunst. Metcalf is 27 years old and still in his prime years. He’s also been incredibly durable. He’s missed only three games in six seasons, with two of those coming in 2024.

The Packers need deep speed following Watson’s torn ACL. Metcalf would fit the bill. He averaged 16.9 yards per reception in 2023 and 15.0 in 2024.

His speed and ability to take the top off the defense would give the Packers more room to operate with the likes of Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks. All of those players tend to work better in the short and intermediate part of the passing game.

With much of Matt LaFleur’s offense relying on spacing, condensing the field became an issue whenever Watson has missed time. That was evident during the three-game losing streak to end the season.

It also was true when Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback and any of their speed receivers missed time. Famously, in Rodgers’ final playoff start with the Packers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling missed the game with a back injury. The Packers had no deep speed on the field, and DeMeco Ryans was able to keep Davante Adams in check as the 49ers upset the No. 1-seeded Packers.

Metcalf would cure that problem.

Metcalf has posted 428 receptions for 6,324 yards and 49 touchdowns since being drafted. He was named second-team All-Pro in 2020 and a Pro Bowler in 2020 and 2023.

The case working against Metcalf is that he is going to be expensive in terms of cash and draft capital.

Metcalf’s contract will expire after the 2025 season. It’s hard to envision Gutekunst giving up at least one top-100 draft choice without getting a contract extension negotiated.

With Josina Anderson reporting the Seahawks were looking for first- and third-round picks to trade Metcalf, let’s say that the compromise is a second-round pick. That means the Packers would have to give up the 54th pick of the draft as well as a contract extension in excess of $30 million per season.

Would Gutekunst do that?

“You’d better be right,” Gutekunst said when asked about trading a high draft pick for a player. “When you trade a high pick for a veteran player, you’re trading a young, really good contract for a player who’s proven but is probably expensive.

“So, you’re giving up a pick and salary-cap space. So, I think you’ve got to weigh that. And if it’s the right player, if you feel like he can be a dynamic player who can change your football team, I think you’ve got to consider that, because there’s not many of those guys out there. But I think you have to also understand what you’re giving up.”

Perhaps with Gutekunst’s call for “urgency,” that makes a trade for someone like Metcalf more likely than it would have been in prior years.

The Case for the Packers Signing Davante Adams

Adams rewrote the record book in Green Bay. He’s the best receiver that Rodgers played with, which is saying something considering the names that traveled through Lombardi Avenue during his tenure.

When Adams and the Packers could not agree to a contract extension after the 2021 season, they traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders for draft picks in the first round (linebacker Quay Walker) and second round (traded to move up to select Watson).

Adams was excited to reconnect with the Raiders’ Derek Carr, his quarterback at Fresno State. However, Carr was benched during their first year together and released at the end of the season.

After catching 100-plus passes for the Raiders in 2022 and 2023, they traded him to the New York Jets early last season to reunite with Rodgers. The tandem showed off their prowess together, but the Jets went 3-8 in Adams’ 11 games. Adams finished the season with 85 receptions for 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games.

Adams remains a violent route runner and an assassin in the red zone. The latter point might be the biggest help for Green Bay, which finished 24th in the red zone in 2022, 19th in 2023 and 10th in 2024.

Adams, meanwhile, in three seasons since the trade averaged 96 receptions for 1,241 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s topped 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns five consecutive seasons.

The Verdict

Metcalf is a really good player, and he might be a better fit with his ability to threaten defenses down the field.

That said, the draft capital required – which might get crazy considering how many teams are vying for his services – gives me some pause.

Metcalf’s combination of size and speed is intriguing, but he’s never been near the top of the league in terms of production. Perhaps that’s a byproduct of the offense he has played in, but if you’re forking over draft capital and a $30 million-per-season contract, that matters.

Adams, despite his age, is still very good. He also has the type of game that could age well into the future.

He’s also the consummate professional and would likely help the Packers’ young receivers learn their craft at a higher level.

Adams had the benefit of learning under Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. They had Greg Jennings and Donald Driver before them. The current stable of young receivers in Green Bay never really had that. Adams would add that benefit to them.

He also will cost only money. The Packers have the cap space to add whoever they want. He won’t handicap their ability to add a pass rusher or cornerback in free agency or the draft.

This would not be just a cute homecoming story. Yes, Adams is older than Metcalf, but he’s more productive.

If it were up to me, that’s not Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil singing in the background, but Adams would be coming home sweet home.