GREEN BAY, Wis. – The crowd that gathered in front of Davante Adams and Jordy Nelson, who are locker neighbors at Lambeau Field, didn’t want to hear from the guy who made a spectacular back-shoulder catch. They wanted to talk to the guy who went through pregame warmups but did not play.

If not for Nelson’s unexpected cameo in full pads before the game and quarterback Brett Hundley's ankle injury that cut short his night, Adams might have been one of the major storylines to come out of Thursday’s preseason win over the Oakland Raiders. Instead, Adams slinked away virtually unnoticed while the masses wanted to hear about Nelson’s first on-field work in public since he tore his right ACL nearly a year ago.

But coach Mike McCarthy noticed.

“Davante’s having a very good camp,” McCarthy said after Thursday’s game. “That’s what you see; he’s healthy and he’s taken a step. I think, really, he’s kind of in line with our whole team. I thought our team took a step in the right direction today. Yes, Davante’s healthy. As with all of our guys, they obviously play better when they’re healthy.”

Adams hasn’t missed a single practice since camp opened on July 26. In a second season marred by injuries, Adams missed three full games early last year because of sprained ankle and then just when he started to live up to his potential in the playoffs, he went down with a knee injury in the wild-card playoff win over Washington. That prevented him from playing in the season-ending loss at Arizona in the divisional round.

Despite a 50-catch season last year, he was dubbed a disappointment by those who expected him to breakout, especially with Nelson lost for the season.

In a 21-snap stint with the starters against the Raiders, Adams caught two passes for 37 yards, including the 31-yard leaping sideline catch on a back-shoulder fade from Hundley. But even that catch was overshadowed by Hundley, who limped off the field with a recurrence of his sprained left ankle. The TV broadcast never even showed a replay of Adams’ catch.

Adams’ preseason hasn’t been without hiccups; dropped passes still creep up more often than the coaches would like. But the explosive play he made on Thursday could be a sign of what’s to come.

"I think you can see his confidence back," Nelson said of Adams earlier in camp. "The speed is back, and he's just playing fast. That makes a difference."