Before the New York Jets officially acquired wide receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders this week, many wondered how quarterback Aaron Rodgers would keep Adams and other play-makers happy regarding the number of targets they’d see during games.
Jets offensive play-caller Todd Downing offered Rodgers some humorous advice while speaking with reporters on Thursday.
“Just tell Aaron to throw to the open guy,” Downing said, as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk shared. “That is the easy part. As a chef, you would want a bunch of ingredients. You wouldn’t want to stand in a kitchen and be looking for something in the cupboards. So, it is a good problem to have that we have all of these really cool ingredients.”
Young Jets receiver Garrett Wilson insisted before and after this week’s much-publicized trade that he’d happily embrace New York adding Adams. However, one can’t help but wonder how Wilson will feel if Adams emerges as Rodgers’ favorite target, beginning with the upcoming “Sunday Night Football” game between 2-4 New York and the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, as many expect.
Adams and Rodgers first became a dynamic one-two punch when they were teammates with the Green Bay Packers from 2014 to 2021.
Over the season’s first five weeks, Rodgers repeatedly looked for buddy and former Green Bay teammate Allen Lazard during games. The Jets may trade receiver Mike Williams as soon as next week, but he’s expected to play at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on Sunday evening. Running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen will also want to be fed.
Downing welcomed the challenge of ensuring Rodgers’ weapons remain committed to the cause regardless of how offensive touches are distributed.
“I think you have to be intentional, too, about making sure guys understand where they fit in the plan because then they get ownership of it and they can get excited about certain plays,” Downing added during his comments. “…You have all these very talented weapons. Now, it is figuring out how you are going to make sure that everybody feels their piece of the pie.”
Adams is coming off a reported hamstring injury, and he may need some time before he’s his dominant self as part of the New York offense. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Rodgers spreads the love against a Pittsburgh defense that, per ESPN stats, enters the weekend ranked second in the league in points against (14.3).
As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Jets as 1.5-point favorites over the Steelers.
