Anytime Davante Adams steps onto a football field, he’s WR1…right? Not during his junior season at Palo Alto High School. In 2009, that distinction belonged to none other than a pearl-wearing outfielder that helped bring a World Series title to Atlanta—Joe Pederson.
Thanks to the beauty of the internet, footage of the dynamic duo recently remerged with Maxpreps records showing that it was Pederson leading the Palo Alto Vikings with 30 catches, 650 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2009 compared to Adams’ 29 catches, 484 yards and 7 touchdowns.
It appears that Pederson also handled kicking duties for the Vikings—going 20/33 on PATs and 1/1 on field goal attempts.
With Pederson gone, the future Packers star eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark the following season and caught 11 touchdowns.
Thankfully for Braves fans, Pederson decided to stick with baseball rather than pursuing a football career, but back in 2016, he was looking for some part-time work in the offseason while he was with the Dodgers.
Adams and Pederson appear to have stayed in touch over the years with the slugger posting this photo back in 2017.
Currently a free agent, Pederson’s stint in Atlanta was short but will be remembered for years to come—especially his pinch-hit home runs in the NLDS against the Brewers and another off Dodgers' ace Max Scherzer in the NLCS.
Adams is also slated to become a free agent this offseason, but for the Falcons, they’d have better luck trying to fit Pederson into their cap.