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Paul Gutiérrez, ESPN writer
HENDERSON, Nev. — Entering his 11th NFL season and third with the Las Vegas Raidersthree-time first-team All-Pro receiver Davante Adams is taking on a more teaching role.
The first lesson to teach, then, is not to get too down on the Raiders’ offense dominated by the team’s defense through OTAs and two days of mandatory minicamp. Not with the defense entering its third season with the same scheme and returning 10 starters while adding a top defensive tackle. christian wilkins and the offense learning a new scheme and embroiled in a complete quarterback competition between second-year returners Aidan O’Connell and free agent pickup Gardner Minshew.
Additionally, Adams is already intimately familiar with the scheme created by new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, Adams’ former position coach with the Green Bay Packers. And Adams is a fan of the system.
“The frustration comes in the middle of the season when we haven’t made the progress we need,” Adams said Wednesday. “At this point, you’re not a very mature or experienced football player if you get frustrated in mandatory minicamp. Obviously, I get frustrated on every play if it doesn’t work out to a certain point, but it’s not (the kind of) frustration where you’re losing your mind.” hope in your teammates, or in yourself, or in the potential of what you can do as a team.”
Adams sat out all of the voluntary OTA practices and has taken limited 11-on-11 reps in the first two practices of minicamp.
“Fortunately, I’ve been in the system for a long time, so 90% of these calls come in and I know what to do right away without even going into my book, really,” Adams said. “So it’s a learning process to get everyone comfortable with it… trying to figure out (how) things change in the movements, lining up in different formations. You might hear some things that were similar to what you heard before, (but) getting that out of your mind, unlearning some things, is part of the process.
Adams had 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns last season, the fifth time in the last six seasons he surpassed the 100 mark in receptions. But his 11.1 yards per catch average was the second-lowest of his career and eight was the second-fewest TD receptions he had in a season in which he played at least 16 games.
Last season, the Raiders left quarterbacks behind. Derek Carr and Jarrett Stidham in 2022 to see Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer and O’Connell will start games in 2023. For all practical purposes, Adams had had only two quarterbacks out of high school: Carr, at Fresno State and with the Raiders, and Aaron Rodgers with the Packers.
“So we’re going to keep working,” Adams said. “That’s it. It’s the second day of mandatory minicamp, so we have plenty of time. We just have to make good use of our time.”