Jonathan Adams was a local product who stayed in-state to play wide receiver at Arkansas State. Adams played sparingly in the first two years of his career before putting up over 800 yards as a junior. In 2020, he recorded over 1,000 yards and was named All-Conference, and second-team All-American Nationally.
Did the small-school senior hit the right offense at the right time, or is there some serious NFL talent from the Arkansas State Wide receiver.
Jonathan Adams Size and Athleticism
6’2″
210 pounds
4.59 40-yard dash
11’00 broad jump
4.38 20-yard shuttle
7.04 3-Cone
Jonathan Adams College Stats
Year Class G Rec Yds Avg TD *2017 FR 7 8 77 9.6 1 *2018 SO 10 17 267 15.7 3 *2019 JR 13 62 851 13.7 5 2020 SR 10 79 1111 14.1 12 Career 166 2306 13.9 21
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 3/22/2021.
Traits that Jonathan Adams translates to NFL
Adams has the adequate to fight and go toe-to-toe with cornerbacks off of press coverage. He plays smart and knows how to leverage his body to position himself to make catches down the field. From there, he is acrobatic in the air in his ability to bring the ball down.
He showed off a wide catch radius and the ability to adjust to bad passes in the air. Adams also used his body to be in a position where he either makes the catch or is interfered with while doing it.
Check out a few clips here of him winning down the field.
Issues for Jonathan Adams translating to NFL
The biggest issue with Adams comes from in-breaking routes. He is not a burner but wins with body positioning down the field. However, he does have built-up speed, and a 210-pound frame can threaten corners. However, it is built up speed in that it cames him a while to slow it down and get it going again.
When he transitions for inward breaking routes he gives them away. Even in running double moves down the field, he is slow to transition and gives corners time to catch up. In the NFL he may be a down-the-field specialty player. For that role, he would need to have special teams ability that was not present during his college career.
NFL comparisons for Jonathan Adams
Using the pro day numbers of Adams, I looked at size and athletic comparisons to him in recent NFL history. You see some upside, but a player who matches the style of the player is Travis Fulgham. The two win in very similar ways by positioning themselves down the field, and by tracking the ball to make impressive receptions.
Fulgham still was unrefined and was from a small school, so he bounced around. However, he caught on with the Eagles for a quick spell and was a playmaker when given the chance. While he may always just be that depth wide receiver with splash play potential. There is upside in the right place that he could go on a run where he looks unstoppable for a few weeks.
Does Jonathan Adams fit with Chicago Bears?
Riley Ridley is more of a technical route runner than Adams. However, Ridley has no explosive traits to threaten corners down the field. The Chicago Bears offense needs more explosive plays in it, and in that, Adams would be an upgrade over Riley Ridley.
The issue is that upgrading Riley Ridley is not a priority. He provides as a blocker like Javon Wims, but Wims brings more special teams value. It would be tough for Adams to beat him out of camp. Beyond that, he has not played the slot much, so he would not threaten Anthony Miller.
Jonathan Adams maybe a day three player, but would likely need to fall pretty far before a safe bet for the Chicago Bears.