3. Davante Adams (2014 Season: 16 Appearances — 11 Starts)
AJ Brown: 52 Catches, 84 Targets, 1,051 Yards, 9 Total Touchdowns
Davante Adams: 38 Catches, 66 Targets, 446 Yards, 3 Total Touchdowns
That last slide was a downer, huh? And to be fair, you could pick just about any receiver in NFL history to compare to any Michael Thomas season, and chances are it won’t be pretty. But how about a pick me up for this slide?
Davante Adams, while maybe not in the class of Thomas or Jones, is still one of the best receivers in the league today– despite what his modest rookie numbers would tell you.
Brown and Adams both came into the league in the late second round (Brown with the 51st pick and Adams at 53rd in the 2014 NFL Draft) but entered vastly different situations. Adams was forced to compete with talented receivers on the Packers roster like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, while Brown was able to climb quickly to the top of the Titans depth chart.
Adams still had a solid rookie year in 2014, but Brown knocked his rookie campaign out of the park, at least in comparison. More volume than Adams, more efficient than Adams, more touchdowns than Adams– and this is compared to a player that’s become one of the NFL’s best, as well as someone who started in the same number of games as Brown.