Davante Adams Camp Update — August 23: The Stafford Deep Ball Is Already Live

Davante Adams spent Thursday morning doing the thing his whole season depends on: catching passes from Matthew Stafford against another team's defense. In the Rams' joint practice with the Saints, the recurring image was Stafford to Adams, including a deep completion down the field early in the session, per Stu Jackson and Zach Edwards at the team website. Sean McVay's assessment afterward: "They've got a great feel," calling it a "really good day for those guys" that came "against tight, sticky coverage," per Mykell Mathieu at The Sporting Tribune. That session was the starters' real work of the week — 45 competitive first-team snaps, per Mathieu — because Saturday's 34 to nothing win over the Saints belonged entirely to the backups, with Stetson Bennett taking every first-half snap and rookie Ty Simpson the rest, per Blaine Grisak at Sports Illustrated.

Back in June we called Adams's 14 touchdowns on 60 catches rented rather than owned, with the real 2026 bet being that Stafford keeps him relevant while the scoring rate decides the rest. A week of live chemistry speaks to the relevant half; only real games can test the scoring rate.

One roster note that touches his target math: Puka Nacua went the whole week without practicing, though McVay expects him back next week and Nacua worked out on the side during Thursday's session, per Mathieu. If that timeline holds, the target tree around Adams opens the season at full strength.

Watch two things: whether Adams and the starters play at all in Thursday's preseason finale against the Chargers before the Melbourne opener, and whether Nacua is actually back on the practice field when game-week preparation starts. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._