NFL Odds: Davante Adams’ COVID-19 Test Impacts Packers-Cardinals Line
Adams is in the middle of another all-world season
Davante Adams might be the best wide receiver in the NFL, which is something we can quantify in a variety of ways.
The two most obvious ways are his stats and the eye test. The stats very much speak for themselves, as Adams has been a borderline unguardable weapon for the Green Bay Packers since his third season in the league. He has been especially fantastic the last two seasons, catching 167 of 222 targets from Aaron Rodgers for more than 2,100 yards and 21 touchdowns — in 21 games.
As for the eye test, well, you take a look.
We stumbled upon a third way to quantify Adams’ greatness Monday afternoon when the Packers announced the All-Pro wideout has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Making matters worse for Adams and the Packers is the fact they have just a few days before kicking it off in Week 8, taking on the undefeated Arizona Cardinals on “Thursday Night Football.”
Shortly after the news broke, sportsbooks rushed to change the betting line for Thursday’s primetime showdown. The Cardinals opened the week as 3.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook and that jumped to a 6-point spread by late Monday afternoon. That’s a considerable jump for one non-quarterback player.
But Adams is no ordinary player. He has played no fewer than 85% of the Packers’ offensive snaps in any game since a Week 1 blowout loss to New Orleans. His 73 targets account for more than a third of Rodgers’ pass attempts this season, meaning one of out of every three Rodgers throws is going Adams’ way. After Rodgers, Adams is probably the Packers’ most valuable player.
There is still an outside chance Adams could play Thursday night, but it would require a pair of negative tests before the game. On the other side of things, though, there’s still a chance more positive Packers tests are on the way as Green Bay defensive coordinator Joe Barry tested positive, too.
While there’s never a good time for an outbreak of any size, the Packers getting hit with this before a difficult matchup on a short week doesn’t bode well — and the betting numbers certainly reflect as much.
