Former NFL Receiver Explains Chemistry Between New York Jets Dynamic Duo

One former NFL wide receiver believes it won’t take long for Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to get on the same page.

Oct 14, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) receives a snap during the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams haven't been on the same football team since the 2021 season in Green Bay.

At least one former NFL wide receiver believes it will take very little time for the two of them to pick up where they left off.

Andrew Hawkins, a former NFL and CFL wide receiver who now analyzes the game for ESPN, talked about the chemistry between top quarterbacks and wide receivers during an appearance on a Thursday studio show.

Since 2000 Rodgers and Adams — who will most likely play their first game together for the New York Jets on Sunday against Pittsburgh — are third in the league in red zone touchdown passes with 53. Right ahead of them in second place are Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski at 55.

Hawkins played his final NFL season with New England in 2017 with Brady and Gronkowski and recalled how their chemistry allowed them to go off-script, even during practice.

“We would go out to practice and then I would watch Tom Brady and (Julian) Edelman and Gronk run the same play that we went over and it would look completely different,” he said. “Because they were no longer running an offense that had any structure to it or that was documented. It was, ‘Hey are you seeing what I'm seeing?’ They're not even communicating verbally.”

It's that kind of chemistry that Rodgers and Adams have, Hawkins said, and it’s the biggest reason why the Jets made the move to acquire Adams earlier this week from Las Vegas.

He said normally there would be a level of concern about a wide receiver and a quarterback getting on the same page after a trade like this. But not in this case.

“Davante Adams understands and sees the defense the way that Aaron Rodgers does,” he said. “That's the reason why they were clamoring to get him with the New York Jets and get the most out of Aaron Rodgers because they've done it for so long at such a high level.”

While Rodgers was already an established star when Adams arrived, the pair put up incredible numbers together in eight seasons in Green Bay.

The Green Bay Packers selected Adams in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft and he became an immediate contributor as his star ascended in 2016. From 2017-21 he was an All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowl selection five times. He led the NFL in touchdowns receptions in 2020 with 18. By the end of his time with the Packers he had 669 receptions for 8,121 yards and 73 touchdowns.

He was an All-Pro in his first season with the Raiders in 2022, and has been productive, with 203 receptions in his first two years.