Grade-School Yearbook Showed Adams’ Dream of Greatness

Greatness “was my goal from the beginning,” Davante Adams said while showing a photo from when he was in the third or fourth grade.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Thursday’s practice started like so many others for Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams.

Inside the Don Hutson Center.

Don Hutson the player helped revolutionize the game. In 1942, he led the NFL with 1,211 receiving yards, a figure that was almost as many as the next three players combined. His 99 career receiving touchdowns stood as the NFL record for 44 years. At the time of his retirement, his 488 career receptions were 298 more than any other player.

Earlier this season, Adams passed Hutson to move into fifth place on the franchise’s all-time receiving list. He will enter Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with 505 receptions. Hall of Famer James Lofton (530) is next in Adams’ sights. Jordy Nelson’s third-place total of 550 is in jeopardy, too.

With 74 receptions for 908 yards and 11 touchdowns, Adams is the only player in NFL history with at least 70 receptions, 900 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first nine games of a season.

Adams was a second-round pick in 2014. Because of an injured ankle, he suffered through a miserable 2015 season. At the time, nobody could have predicted Adams would reach this level of greatness.

Well, nobody but Adams. Adams saw greatness from an early age.

On Thursday, he was asked about his childhood. When he was a 14-year-old at Palo Alto (Calif.) High School, what were his dreams? Did he dream of being an NFL player? A great player?

Adams grabbed his phone and found a photo from a grade-school gradebook. By his photo, it said his goal was to be, “NBA or NFL star.”

“That was my goal from the beginning,” Adams said as part of the corresponding video. “And through the grace of God, I was able to achieve that. It doesn’t stop here, but to be able to look on something like that, it means a lot just because I don’t know how many people in the world can say that when they were third or fourth grade that they wrote in their yearbook what they wanted to do and then they achieved just that. It’s been a blessing, man, it’s been awesome. It’s been a crazy road, but it just kind of makes the story better and makes it all the more sweet.”

Adams is having a superb season in helping the Packers earn an 8-3 record and move Aaron Rodgers onto the short list of MVP candidates.

In his nine games, he’s averaged 8.2 receptions, 100.9 yards and 1.2 touchdowns. If he plays the remaining games, that would equate to 14-game totals of 115 receptions for 1,413 yards and 17 touchdowns. The franchise marks are 112 receptions (Sterling Sharpe, 1993), 1,519 yards (Nelson, 2014) and 18 touchdowns (Sharpe, 1994).

Adams reached the 500-catch milestone in 95 games, one faster than Sharpe for fastest in franchise history. His six-game streak of at least six receptions and a touchdown is one short of Terrell Owens’ NFL record set in 2007.

A sublime route runner, Adams has caught the ball better than ever. He’s caught more deep balls, too. Every defensive coordinator and defensive back knows where the ball is going. It hasn’t mattered.

For Adams, it’s all gas, no brake. It’s not about the numbers or records, per se. Rather, it’s a mentality of complete domination.

“You look at the film and say ‘Could I have done more here?’” Adams said. “Even some big games that I’ve had – the Niner game, having 173 in that game and only playing three quarters, I always look back like, ‘Damn, I wonder what would’ve happened if I played that last full quarter. What could I have done?’

“Not just for the numbers, but just the pressure that I want to apply to the other team because that’s really what it’s about for me. It’s not always about getting the ball as many times. It’s about being able to be involved and consistently apply pressure because I think that’s what allows me to get the respect from my peers and the other corners that are guarding me. They know that I’m never going to give them a route off. Any time we’re going, we’re going to go.”