Want to see the visual representation of a wide receiver making art on a football field?
Check out Davante Adams’ route chart from the Green Bay Packers’ 28-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round, courtesy of NFL’s Next Gen Stats:
Adams caught eight passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, setting a new franchise record for receiving yards in a playoff game and becoming the first Packers player in team history to produce at least 150 receiving yards and catch two touchdowns in a playoff game.
How Adams accomplished those numbers makes the performance all the more impressive.
Look at all the different routes he ran, and from all the different spots in the formation. He dominated on in-breaking routes but also tortured the Seahawks with double moves to the outside. He won vertically and horizontally. He got open from out wide to the left and right and from the slot to the left and right. He made tough catches down the field but also picked up impressive chunks of yards after the catch.
Adams probably would have scored a third touchdown had he not dropped a touch pass from Aaron Rodgers inside the 10-yard line in the first half. That route is represented on the route chart by the grey line behind the line of scrimmage. If he had caught it clean, there’s a good chance he would have followed blockers out front and found the end zone.
The route chart shows a receiver who won all over the field, a quarterback with complete confidence in his No. 1 receiver and a playcaller and designer who made getting the ball to No. 17 his top priority. Add it all up, and Adams was able to produce arguably the greatest postseason performance in Packers history.
Can he match it Sunday in San Francisco?
