One of the weakest and thinnest positions on the Raiders last season is now one of the deeper positions. With the added depth comes jockeying for position in the battle for playing time. There is more than one interesting battle amongst the ranks.
Tyrell Williams vs. Bryan Edwards
Position: Starting X receiver
Williams has a considerable advantage in this battle. In fact, barring injury, he will probably be the starter come the season. He is, after all, making $11 million this season, and you tend to want to get him on the field if he’s being paid that kind of scratch.
Edwards was the team’s pick at No. 81 overall in the third round. He is a similar receiver type to Williams and could be his eventual replacement. It will depend on how Edwards shows up in camp and the early part of the season just how far into the future he will get his shot.
Williams was fighting through a plantar fascia injury much of last season. Taking that into consideration, his season of 42 catches for 651 yards and six touchdowns doesn’t seem all that bad.
If nothing else, it suggests that if he’s healthy he can live up to his No. 2 wide receiver status. If he does, then Edwards will see situational spot duty only. If he cannot, and Edwards makes an early push, the young buck could supplant the incumbent sooner than later.
Zay Jones vs. Nelson Agholor
Position: No. 5 Wide Receiver
Most teams keep five wide receivers on the regular-season roster. Sometimes a sixth will be kept if their primary job is on special teams. Neither of these guys is seen as a primary special teams player, and with the top four receiver spots spoken for, one of them probably won’t be on the regular-season roster come cutdowns.
Jones was acquired via trade with the Bills midway through last season. Despite appearing in 10 games with seven starts, he had just 20 catches for 147 yards and no touchdowns. He showed no game-breaking abilities and averaged just 7.3 yards per catch.
Agholor appeared the 11 games last season for the Eagles, catching 39 passes for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was his worst season in three years. The previous two years he averaged 63 catches for 752 yards and six touchdowns while catching over 65 percent of the passes thrown his way.
Mike Mayock sees potential return abilities for Agholor as well. He is also playing on a very friendly $887,000 one-year contract all guaranteed. Jones’ contract is $1.4 million with no dead money if he’s cut.
This battle seems to favor Agholor considerably in many regards. But these competitions aren’t decided based on previous seasons or pay amounts. They are decided on the practice and game field.
Others: Henry Ruggs III, Hunter Renfrow, Keelan Doss, Marcel Ateman, Rico Gafford, D’Mornay Pierson-El, Anthony Ratliff-Williams, Saosi Mariner
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