BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Eddie Lacy isn't the only Green Bay Packers offensive player who apparently needed to change his approach to the season.

It sounds like you could throw Davante Adams into that category.

Although coach Mike McCarthy was more subtle as he discussed the third receiver than he was with Lacy, his point seemed the same: Adams needs to do more to make sure he can hold up throughout the rigors of a long NFL season.

Last season, the Packers expected Adams to become one of Aaron Rodgers' main weapons, especially after Jordy Nelson's season-ending knee injury in the preseason. But Adams battled injuries of his own (a sprained ankle that cost nearly four full games) and never seemed to get into the kind of groove McCarthy expected after a promising rookie season in 2014.

“Number one, he's got to get himself ready to endure a long season,” McCarthy said during Wednesday's NFC coaches breakfast at the annual league meetings. “Every young player goes through it, and that second year is always the toughest.”

Adams increased his catch total from 38 as a rookie to 50 in 13 games last season, but he battled the drops (10, according to ProFootballFocus.com) and averaged just 9.7 yards per catch with only one touchdown. He then missed the playoff loss at Arizona because of a knee injury he sustained in the wild-card win over the Washington Redskins.

“You look at his rookie year, he was drawing the [No. 3 cornerback] a lot of the time and had a lot of success,” McCarthy said. “Now you get out there and you're drawing the first or second guy, it's a different battle. He has it in his body, he has it in his heart and I look for him to come back in better shape than ever. Work ethic and everything needs to go, the understanding of the position, understanding as far as the relationship with the quarterback. I look for him to take that next step and I have all the confidence that he will.”

Adams wasn't the only second-year player to disappoint the Packers last season. Tight end Richard Rodgers never became the stretch-the-field receiver Rodgers needed down the middle of the field to help open things up on the perimeter.

McCarthy denied that either Adams and Rodgers became complacent after semi-productive rookie seasons.

“Well, I don't know about them thinking they made it,” McCarthy said. “They both had similar years as far as their performance, and it's that challenge of the second year. You always talk about a guy taking that jump from the first year to the second year, but with that it's even a bigger challenge when their responsibility is increased too. Both of those guys have a lot more responsibility, Richard and Davante last year, and so they met tougher challenges and they'll be better next year for it.”