Toward the end of their conversation, the topic turned to Dontayvion Wicks, a 22-year-old rookie fifth-round pick who enters Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium having caught 31 passes for 491 yards and a touchdown this season — including 14 receptions for a team-high 251 yards over the last five games, despite missing one of those games with a concussion and leaving another early with an ankle injury.
So, when Wicks made a leaping, contorting catch of an off-target Jordan Love pass for a 19-yard gain during the second quarter to convert a third-and-5 against the Giants — one of 16 explosive catches of 16 yards or more Wicks has this season — Aikman praised Wicks’ body control, while Buck said on the air:
“When you talk to Matt LaFleur, he just raves about Dontayvion,” Wicks says. ‘Don’t end the meeting on this, but he’s got terrific feet,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying he’s Davante Adams, but he has Davante Adams-like feet at the line of scrimmage,’ says the coach. He’s a fantastic young player.'”
When told what Aikman and Buck had stated this week, LaFleur raised an eyebrow and mumbled, “That’s good to know.”
LaFleur, who had Adams for three seasons before trading him to the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2022, then went on to describe how Wicks reminded him of Adams — because the resemblance is obvious.
“I just think it’s that short-area quickness,” LaFleur said of Wicks’ Adams-like quality. “I like to compare it to running over someone on the basketball court.” He possesses the ability to play on his insteps.
“He’s got a ways to go before he gets to that level, but I do think as far as the skillset and all that, that you look for in a guy, I think the sky’s the limit for him, quite frankly.”
It makes sense for LaFleur to bring up basketball. Wicks was a standout basketball player at Plaquemine High School in Louisiana before being persuaded to play football by a coach, while Adams’ initial love as a child was basketball as well.
Although Adams’ 6-foot-1 stature harmed his chances of playing basketball at the next level (he was a 2-star basketball recruit as a point guard out of East Palo Alto, Calif.), he believes his 43-inch vertical gave him a shot.
Instead, Adams settled for being one of the game’s top wide receivers. Adams, a first-team All-Pro selection the past three seasons (two with the Packers, one with the Raiders), enters Monday night’s game at Kansas City having caught 84 catches for 968 yards and five touchdowns during a turbulent season with the 6-8 Raiders.
He is still idolized in Green Bay, where the Packers’ six rookie and second-year wide receivers, led by Wicks, devour old game and practice footage of Adams in LaFleur’s offense, as well as new clips of him with the Raiders, which are uploaded into their iPads.
Wicks not only watches Adams’ more recent picture, but he also watches his idol while in college at Virginia. Wicks’ position coach, ex-NFL receiver Marques Haggans, had all of his players view NFL tapes of players he thought were similar to them, and Adams and Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase were Wicks’ comps.
“I was watching them a lot — Davante more,” Wicks explained. “So, coming into the league, I already knew a lot about him and had spent a lot of time watching him.” We both played basketball, and we have a lot of the same moves and releases, so I believed studying him would benefit me a lot more as a rookie.”
Wicks also stated that now that he is in Green Bay, he routinely downloads all of Adams’ targets with the Packers in order to pick up little route-running subtleties. Those who pay close attention to him may notice echoes of Adams’ game in his.
“Yes, absolutely. “You could see it in their movements, catching the ball when they’re out there on the field, the little, subtle adjustments they make to put themselves in the best position,” Love added. “I’ve definitely seen a lot of Davante-related things.”
“Obviously, Davante is a next-level player, and Wicks has a lot of room to improve and reach that level.” But just from the time I spent with Tae, I’ve noticed some (similarities) — all that little movement that they’re able to do, the way they’re able to move their body in the air and grab the ball. They just make it appear so simple. They’re doing extremely difficult work. And they make it appear so simple.”
“Obviously, I’m not trying to put them in the same bracket,” Love said, knowing he was getting carried away. Davante is a fantastic player. But I believe that if he continues to work hard, the sky is the limit for him.”
No one was more delighted than wide receivers coach Jason Vrable when the Packers selected Wicks in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft — at No. 159 overall, the 19th receiver chosen — because he stays tight with Adams and recognized the same basketball-style agility when he broke down Wicks’ college footage.
“(I’m) never (comfortable) comparing a guy to a great one who was here and will most likely be a Hall of Famer as this thing progresses.” “But I remember watching Wicks coming out of college and Googleing (him) to get a better feel,” Vrable said. “And then I saw a basketball highlight of him and thought, ‘Oh, man.'” This youngster is dunking and crossing over guys. And I noticed he was being recruited for basketball, just like ’17’ was.
“That’s the crossover ability you see, to win on a release (or) at 5 yards to be going out and then coming in — where other great wideouts may be track guys, which is a linear speed.”
“I believe (Wicks’ and Adams’ basketball) backgrounds of what they’ve trained their bodies their entire lives may give them an advantage over others.” I saw that in the spring, and it was on his college tape, so it was always there. And his mindset, work ethic, and character will lead him where he wants to go, because he has demonstrated his ability at times.”
The similarities between Wicks and Adams go beyond their playing styles. Both are enthusiastic students of the game with high football IQs, as Wicks demonstrated by quickly learning the offensive playbook despite missing much of his first NFL training camp due to hamstring and concussion injuries. Adams’ wit is well-known throughout 1265 Lombardi Avenue.
Wicks, like Adams, can play through ailments, having appeared in 116 of a possible 129 games in his eight seasons with Green Bay. Wicks left the Giants game with a high-ankle sprain after only two receptions for 20 yards, but recovered to lead the Packers in receptions (six) and receiving yards (97) in last Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While Wicks appreciates the comparisons to Adams given his admiration for him — Wicks said cornerback Jaire Alexander alerted him to Buck and Aikman’s comments, texting him, “Watch the TV copy, they’re saying some good stuff about you” — he ended a midweek conversation about the Adams similarities exactly the way Adams might have done in his position.
“Being mentioned in the same sentence as Davante is a good thing, but I want to make my own name.” “That’s the most important thing to me,” Wicks remarked. “It’s an honor to be compared to and mentioned in the same sentence as Davante, because I looked up to him when I first graduated from college.” “However, I want to make my own name.”
