Davante Adams partnership with Garrett Wilson began before he was traded to Jets: ‘I’m his favorite receiver’

Last offseason, before he was traded to the Jets, Davante Adams sat down and had dinner with Garrett Wilson through a mutual friend in New York when the three-time All-Pro was in the area.

The two spoke about being fans of each other’s games and began to build a relationship. The receivers also talked about the potential to play again and Adams’ desire to reunite with Aaron Rodgers, with whom he played eight seasons in Green Bay.

That’s when Adams says he began thinking about the potential of the and Wilson and what they could do in the Jets’ offense.

“To be able to work with somebody — I’m his favorite receiver, you know, it’s because of the details and the things that I put in, which obviously he’s interested in learning because it only helped him in his career as well,” Adams said.

“It’s real synonymous, this game is. You see that sometimes, the guy that the icon ends up being a fan of the young guy, and in reverse. It’s fun to work with him and see him work every day. I’m definitely looking forward to this continuing.”

Adams and Wilson were acquaintances before meeting for dinner that night. But that meeting was also when Wilson began thinking about playing with Adams someday.

“I was just trying to pick his brain about Aaron, you know, and talk about his connection,” Wilson said about meeting with Adams last offseason. He’s one of my favorite players, man, growing up, and he knows that, and you know, I wasn’t shy to tell him that when I first met him at that dinner.

“And, and I think, you know, just because of that and the way he felt about my game, we really had an enlightening convo for me, and he was able to, you know, drop a lot of knowledge on me.”

Adams and Wilson no longer have to imagine following Adams’ trade from the Raiders to the Jets on Oct. 15.

The Jets offense has struggled for most of the 2024 season, and they are hoping Adams will improve a unit that currently ranks 24th in yards (308.7) and 25th in points scored per game (19).

In Adams’ first two games with the Jets, the duo did not get off to a great start. He recorded a combined seven catches in losses to the Steelers and Patriots.

The lack of production wasn’t a huge surprise, considering Adams had missed three games before the trade due to a hamstring injury.

“I knew the whole time it wasn’t necessarily going to happen in the Pittsburgh game,” Adams said. “I just got there coming off an injury.

“We have a team full of playmakers, but that doesn’t always work. You see it in the NBA and, you know, different, I’m sure, in soccer as well. you got to learn to play with each other. And you know, that comes from the top, the coaches figuring out which plays the call and how to space out plays for different guys throughout the game.”

However, the Adams and Wilson pairing finally showed their potential during the 21-13 victory against the Texans in Week 9. Adams finished with seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, helping put the game away.

Wilson made an acrobatic catch that resembled Michael Jordan’s Jumpman logo and Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous one-handed catch from 2014. He registered nine catches for 90 yards and two touchdown passes against the Texans.

Before Adams’ arrival, teams dedicated their resources to stopping Wilson. But with Adams on the other side or sometimes side-by-side with Wilson, defensive coverages have to decide which player to sometimes double or triple-team in coverage.

“I feel like if you’re a good receiver, you have to pride yourself on being guarded one-on-one,” Wilson said. “If you can find a way to make sure you always get those one-on-ones, that’s what it’s all about.

“The game, the film is on itself. You can watch it with, you know, like a pure feeling just because you know, you’re getting a one-on-one and it’s your job to win it.

“It’s been awesome having a round for a multitude of reasons, but that’s definitely one. “You know, the attention that he, you know, requires from the defense.”

The Jets will need Adams and Wilson to play similarly to how they did against the Texans during the remaining eight games of the season. Gang Green currently has a 3-6 record and is 10th in the AFC standings.

The Jets hope to keep their playoff hopes alive this Sunday in their road game against the Cardinals.

The Jets entered this season with the longest postseason drought in North American sports, having not made the playoffs since 2010. When Adams came to the Jets, he made a speech following the game against the Steelers, hoping to ignite a team on a four-game losing streak.

Now that the Jets ended their five-game losing streak, Adams wants to see the offense play looser down the stretch.

“I think everybody had the right intentions and was focused, but it was just not just a little too much tightness throughout the entirety of the offense,” Adams said. “So once we got, we kind of loosened up, talked to each other, you know, and just reminded each other that we do this and everybody here has made plays. So we got into a rhythm and started making a few plays.

“That’s kind of how it happens. “When it, when it rains, it pours sometimes from a negative and a positive standpoint.”