LOS ANGELES (AP) — All Davante Adams wanted was some stability and certainty, and the three-time All-Pro wide receiver sounds as if he has found it with the Los Angeles Rams.
“It’s been exactly what I needed,” Adams said Tuesday after practice. “Feeling rejuvenated.”
Following three tumultuous losing seasons — which included an in-season trade from the Las Vegas Raiders to the New York Jets last October — Adams didn’t exactly conceal the contrast between his previous two teams and the Rams, who signed him to a two-year contract that could be worth up to $46 million in March.
“But I just feel like this is what I needed, just based off the vibe and the aura of the building,” Adams said. “And everybody’s in a good mood. It’s not like a dark cloud over the building, and I’ve experienced that quite a bit over the last few years, so it’s a glaring difference when you come into a building like this.”
That feeling starts with head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford, Adams said, and extends throughout the organization in a way he hasn’t seen in a while.
“Kind of feel like Pop Warner, high school, college ball all over again, and that’s exactly what this team feels like in the best way possible,” Adams said. “It feels like a college-type camaraderie just around. I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen a linebacker and a punter talking as much as what I have since I’ve been here, or the kicker and quarterbacks, or whoever it is.”
Adams felt he wasn’t able to build those kinds of relationships during his 11-game stint with the Jets because of the timing of his arrival, so he was determined to do so during a full offseason with his new Rams teammates.
That has included frequent talks with McVay, often during warmups. Their communication reinforced the positive feedback the 32-year-old Adams previously received about the coach who is seven years his senior.
“And you can see why he’s had so much success, and why everybody kind of looks at him and looks to him the way they do in this building,” Adams said. “And before I even got a chance to really kind of get together with a lot of these guys, I’ve heard some of the feelings and sentiments from different players about him, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any uniformity toward any individual ever in the past before that. And getting to know him now, it just kind of backs it up, you know, football-wise and him as a person. When your leader is that way, and it makes it easy to come to work, it just makes the whole thing a lot more fun.”
In terms of football, Adams has taken notice of how McVay makes his offense so “methodical” in melding the run and pass seamlessly.
The continuity in scheme Adams praises is in contrast to one attribute of Stafford’s approach that has stood out for the six-time 1,000-yard receiver.
“Well, the main thing is, based off a couple (plays) we had today, he don’t care what that coverage says,” Adams said. “If they’re not playing that coverage right, you might get the ball still.”
There were a few instances where Adams was surprised to find himself targeted, which is forcing him to lock in on every play as if the pass will be headed his way. Stafford operates with a different mindset than what Adams had come to expect during his previous 11 seasons in the NFL.
“I’m sure everybody’s heard of those routes where you’re kind of designed to clear out (the defense), or maybe based off a certain coverage, you’ll be eliminated. Uh uh, that ain’t how he roll, and you got to be a dog to do that,” Adams said.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press
