A rookie selected by the Packers in the fifth round resembles the greatest receiver of all time.
GREEN BAY — Matt LaFleur wished that Troy Aikman and Joe Buck would not misunderstand his remarks. However, it’s likely that the Green Bay Packers coach ought to have known better.
After all, you can be sure that people will pay attention when you use the name of one of your young, rising wide receivers in a sentence that also features the name of Davante Adams, one of the greatest pass catchers in Green Bay Packers history.
A day before the Packers’ Dec. 11 “Monday Night Football” matchup with the New York Giants, LaFleur had sat down with ESPN’s marquee announcing tandem in a production meeting, as all NFL coaches do.
Toward the end of their time together, the conversation turned to 22-year-old rookie fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks, who enters Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium having caught 31 passes for 491 yards and a touchdown this season — including 14 receptions for a team-high 251 yards over the last five games, despite missing one of those games with a concussion and leaving another early with an ankle injury.
Therefore, Aikman commended Wicks’ body control while Buck provided this information on air when Wicks leapt and contorted to grab an off-target Jordan Love pass for a 19-yard gain during the second quarter to convert a third-and-5 against the Giants. Wicks has 16 explosive catches of 16 yards or more this season.
Dontayvion Wicks of the Packers football team takes off during the first half of Lambeau Field’s game against the Buccaneers last Sunday. With six receptions, he gained 97 yards.
Associated Press, Morry Ash
“Wicks, Matt LaFleur just gushes about Dontayvion when you speak with him. “Don’t end the meeting on this, but he has great feet,” he said. He has Davante Adams, but I’m not saying he’s Davante Adams.
When informed this week of Aikman and Buck’s remarks, LaFleur muttered, “That’s good to know,” and arched an eyebrow.
LaFleur, who owned Adams for three seasons prior to his trade to the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2022, went on to describe exactly how Wicks reminds him of Adams, stating that it is impossible to avoid the comparison.
“I believe it’s that agility in short spaces,” LaFleur stated, referring to the most Adams-like trait he observes in Wicks. I like to liken it to stepping over someone on a basketball court. He has the talent to take advantage of his mistakes.
“He has a ways to go before he reaches that level, but to be honest, I think the sky is the limit for him in terms of the skill set and other qualities you look for in a guy.”
It makes sense that LaFleur would bring up basketball. Before a coach persuaded Wicks to play football, he was a standout basketball player at Plaquemine High School in Louisiana. Similarly, basketball was Adams’ childhood passion as well.
Adams, a 6-foot-1 point guard out of East Palo Alto, California, was a 2-star recruit who felt his 43-inch vertical might have given him a shot at an NBA career, despite the fact that his height hurt his chances of playing hoops at the next level.
Adams was content to be among the NFL’s top wide receivers instead. Adams, who spent two seasons with the Packers and one with the Raiders as a first-team All-Pro selection, will be facing Kansas City on Monday night in Vegas. During his turbulent season with the 6-8 Raiders, Adams caught 84 passes for 968 yards and five touchdowns.
In Green Bay, Adams remains a hero to the six rookie and second-year wide receivers for the Packers, led by Wicks. They watch reruns of games and practice footage of Adams in LaFleur’s offense and have recently added new clips of him playing for the Raiders to their iPads.
Wicks watches not just the more recent film of Adams, but also the one that he saw his hero in college at Virginia. The NFL players that Wicks’ position coach, former wide receiver Marques Haggans, required his players to watch were Adams and Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase.
stated. “I had seen him a lot and knew a lot about him before I even joined the league. Since we both played basketball and share many similar movements and releases, I reasoned that studying him would be extremely beneficial for me as a rookie in the league.
Wicks added that since moving to Green Bay, he regularly downloads all of Adams’ targets with the Packers in order to keep an eye out for any tiny details about route running that he can borrow. And those who watch him closely will undoubtedly pick up on Adams’ game notes in his own.
Yes, without a doubt. Love stated, “You could see it in the little, subtle adjustments that both of those guys make to put themselves in the best position when they’re out there on the field, just catching the ball.” “I have undoubtedly witnessed a great deal from Davante.
“Wicks has a lot of room to grow and develop his game, but Davante is undoubtedly a next-level player. But just from my time with Tae, I can tell that there are some (similarities) between them in terms of the little movements they can do, the way they can move their bodies in the air, and how they can catch the ball. They simply make it seem simple. The work they are doing is really challenging. Additionally
Love then grinned and said, “Obviously, I’m not trying to put them in the same bracket,” sensing he was getting carried away. Davante is an incredible athlete. But if he keeps working, I believe the possibilities are endless for him.
No one was more thrilled than wide receivers coach Jason Vrable, who is still close with Adams and saw the same basketball-style quickness when he examined Wicks’ college tape, when the Packers selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft at No. 159 overall, the 19th receiver selected.
“As this thing progresses, I’m never comfortable comparing a guy to a great one who was here and probably will be a Hall of Famer.” However, I Googled (Wicks) to get a better sense when I was watching him graduate from college,” Vrable recalled. And I thought, ‘Oh, man,’ when I saw a highlight of him playing basketball. This kid is crossing guys over and dunking. And that’s when I noticed that he was being recruited for basketball, around the year ’17.
The ability to win on a release or to be going out and then coming in at five yards is what’s known as crossover ability. Other players who are excellent wideouts may be track players because track is a linear speed.
“I believe that the basketball backgrounds of Wicks and Adams, along with the physical training they’ve received throughout their lives, may give them an advantage over others. It’s always been there; I saw it in the spring and on his college tape. And because he has occasionally demonstrated his ability, his work ethic, character, and mindset will help him get where he wants to go.
Wicks and Adams are compared on more than just their playing styles. Both have a strong football IQ and are passionate fans of the game, as demonstrated by Wicks’ ability to quickly catch up on the offensive playbook despite missing the majority of his first NFL training camp due to a hamstring injury and concussion. Adams is renowned throughout 1265 Lombardi Avenue for his intelligence as well.
129 games in his eight years with the Green Bay Packers. After just two receptions for 20 yards, Wicks was forced to leave the Giants game due to a high ankle sprain. Despite the injury, Wicks persevered and led the Packers in receiving yards (97) and receptions (six) in the team’s Sunday loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Wicks ended a midweek conversation about the Adams similarities exactly the way Adams might have performed in his position, even though he appreciates the parallels to his own Adams given his admiration for him. Wicks said cornerback Jaire Alexander informed him of Buck and Aikman’s remarks, texting him, “Watch the TV copy, they’re saying some good stuff about you.”
It’s good to have Davante in the same sentence as me, but I want to establish my own reputation. That’s what matters most to me,” Wicks remarked. Being mentioned in the same breath as Davante is fantastic, as I always looked up to him after graduating from college. To carve out a name for myself, though.
