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Packers GM: Replacing Adams requires 'cumulative' team effort

John Fisher / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Green Bay Packers are unlikely to pursue an established star to take Davante Adams' role at wide receiver, general manager Brian Gutekunst suggested Monday.

"You never really replace a guy like Davante Adams," Gutekunst told reporters at the NFL owners' meetings, according to ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "It's gonna be more cumulative and how the whole team steps up and plays and what we can add to that. So getting the two (draft) picks and having four picks in the top 59 I think gives us a little bit of ammunition to try to make a difference there."

The Packers traded Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders in early March for first- and second-round picks after failing to sign him to an extension. Adams carried Green Bay's passing attack in recent years and posted 1,553 yards with 11 touchdowns in 2021 to earn another All-Pro selection.

His departure, coupled with that of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, leaves Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, and Amari Rodgers atop the Packers' depth chart. Robert Tonyan leads Green Bay's stable of tight ends.

The Packers typically don't spend top draft picks on wide receivers. They haven't drafted one in the first two rounds since taking Adams in 2014. Gutekunst acknowledged the possibility of selecting multiple wideouts this year to reinforce the depleted unit.

"I don't think we've ever shied away from taking multiple players at one position in a draft," he said, per Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com. "So certainly, if the right players are there, we wouldn't shy away from that."

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