Pattern Madness: Depth At Wideout Guides Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders enter the summer with more talent at wideout than they’ve seen in years.

For the entirety of Derek Carr’s tenure, apologists lamented the lack of receiver help. Now, in all honesty, Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper weren’t anything to sneeze at. However, through free agency losses and poor personal decisions, the Las Vegas Raiders searched for a corps that matched the talent of their quarterback. After searching, Carr’s receivers will present him with targets on all three levels of the field.

A Friend In Deed

Davante Adams gives the Raiders a newfound legitimacy that they have not boasted of since the mid-2010s. First, he steps onto the field with automatic chemistry that should pay dividends early. In addition, his presence commands attention and coverage will shift in his direction. Now, don’t misconstrue that. Adams won’t operate as a decoy. Instead, he will see his share of grabs for a thousand yards and double-digit touchdowns. More importantly, Adams provides the offense and Carr with something they lack: confidence. Adams will gain separation and turn a short pass into a twenty-yard gain. As a result, the days of forcing the ball into poorly-ran routes become a thing of the past.

Third And Renfrow

If you subscribed to NFL draft beliefs, Hunter Renfrow should not be in the league this long. According to them, a sub-six-foot wideout with 4.59 speed should not stay a top-15 NFL wideout. Yet, through three seasons, Renfrow will cash an obscenely large paycheck very soon. What separates Renfrow from many wideouts is the nuance. Within each route, he will carve crisp patterns, creating natural separation that more athletic wideouts would kill for.

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by Full Press Coverage on March 24, 2022 at 12:10 am

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The Deep Threat

With his arm talent, Derek Carr needs a deep threat. For the Raiders to execute in the NFL, a vertical wideout changes the complexion of a game. Keelan Cole and Tyron Johnson will battle for that job. In multiple receiver sets, one of them will get on top of the defense and see the endzone. In return, this speed loosens up the defense. If one were a betting man, the money needs to fall to Johnson. Four years younger a better deep ball tracker, Johnson should enter camp with the advantage.

Depth Is The Best Teammate

In the NFL, teams cannot rely on one player. Teams that aspire to great playoff success, like the Raiders look primed for must roll out a multi-layered threat. On the other side, defenses thin out, further down the secondary depth chart. So, the backend of the Raiders’ depth chart will hopefully take full advantage of thinned corner backups.