Davante Adams caught 83 passes last year but didn’t finish with top-20 receiving numbers (using PPR scoring). That’s rare. Normally the guys catching lots of passes tend to score effectively in that format.
In Adams’ case, he was held down by modest touchdown production (just 5 TDs). I’m not worried about that going forward. Adams has been Green Bay’s clear No. 1 option inside the red zone in recent years. Adams also missed four games. Those factors left him just 23rd in scoring at his position last year.
Adams reminded everyone in the postseason last year how great he can be. In Green Bay’s two playoff games, he caught 17 passes for 298 yards and 2 TDs. In my eyes, he should be the second receiver selected in drafts this August. I like him a lot more than guys like Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins.
In a general sense, when you have a guy who’ll catch a ton of balls, they’re very valuable in PPR formats.
In NFL history, only 19 players have caught 80-plus passes and failed to finish with top-20 numbers. Five of those guys are active: Adams, Stefon Diggs, Golden Tate, Jarvis Landry and Danny Amendola. Diggs is the only player in league history to catch 80-plus balls and not even rank in the top 30 (84 catches but just 3 TDs back in 2016).
More commonly, however, lots of receptions translates into fantasy success.
In the last 20 years, 284 wide receivers have caught at least 80 passes. Of those guys, 62 percent finished with top-10 numbers, and 94 percent at least finished in the top 20. A third of those players (94 of 284) finished with top-5 numbers.
The exception players (in chronological order) are as follows …
| 80 CATCHES BUT RANKING OUTSIDE THE TOP 20 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 1996 | Wayne Chrebet, NYJ | 84 | 909 | 10.8 | 3 | 192.9 | 25 |
| 1999 | Bobby Engram, Chi. | 88 | 947 | 10.8 | 4 | 207.8 | 24 |
| 2001 | Willie Jackson, N.O. | 81 | 1,046 | 12.9 | 5 | 217.6 | 21 |
| 2002 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 81 | 930 | 11.5 | 2 | 187.9 | 28 |
| 2002 | Troy Brown, N.E. | 97 | 890 | 9.2 | 3 | 207.4 | 23 |
| 2004 | Hines Ward, Pitt. | 80 | 1,004 | 12.6 | 5 | 212.9 | 23 |
| 2004 | Laveranues Coles, Was. | 90 | 950 | 10.6 | 1 | 190.7 | 30 |
| 2005 | Eric Moulds, Buff. | 81 | 816 | 10.1 | 4 | 186.6 | 28 |
| 2007 | Donald Driver, G.B. | 82 | 1,048 | 12.8 | 2 | 199.2 | 23 |
| 2008 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin. | 92 | 904 | 9.8 | 4 | 207.3 | 21 |
| 2010 | Brandon Marshall, Mia. | 86 | 1,014 | 11.8 | 3 | 205.7 | 22 |
| 2010 | • Danny Amendola, St.L. | 85 | 689 | 8.1 | 3 | 180.0 | 30 |
| 2013 | Harry Douglas, Atl. | 85 | 1,067 | 12.6 | 2 | 203.7 | 23 |
| 2014 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 85 | 936 | 11.0 | 3 | 196.6 | 28 |
| 2014 | • Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 84 | 758 | 9.0 | 5 | 189.4 | 30 |
| 2014 | Roddy White, Atl. | 80 | 921 | 11.5 | 7 | 214.1 | 21 |
| 2015 | • Golden Tate, Det. | 90 | 813 | 9.0 | 6 | 211.4 | 23 |
| 2016 | • Stefon Diggs, Min. | 84 | 903 | 10.8 | 3 | 193.3 | 31 |
| 2019 | • Davante Adams, G.B. | 83 | 997 | 12.0 | 5 | 214.7 | 23 |
—Ian Allan