Hunter Renfrow has been underrated for most of his life. One of the unsung heroes of Clemson’s rise to prominence, you rarely hear his name when it comes to being apart of one of the best teams of the decade. The former walk-on scored the game-winning touchdown for Clemson for their first national championship and was on the roster for the second.
Renfrow went on to have a great senior bowl displaying how tough he is to guard in one on one matchups. His combine was much to desired with his hand size being 7 inches, and this led to him falling all the way down to the fifth round, where the Raiders scooped up the wide receiver prospect.
The fifth-round pick was a pleasant surprise for the Raiders offense and exhibited his value when he injured his ribs week 12. Renfrow finished with 49 catches for 605 yards and four touchdowns. His last two games of the season were his first 100 yard games at any level of football.
Where Renfrow truly shines is on third-down.
35 percent of Renfrow’s catches were third-down conversions where he finished 17th in the league. All four of his touchdowns are on third down with him being a safety valve for the Raiders offense in critical situations.
What makes Renfrow great on third down? I dug into the film and saw a savvy route runner and unexpected playmaker.
Playmaking ability
One area fans did not expect to see from the young slot machine was his ability to create big plays. Renfrow was never asked to do this in college, but in the NFL has displayed he can take a quick slant all the way to the house.
The first time we saw this was against the Houston Texans. It was third and six, and the Raiders come out in 11 personnel with a 2×2 set out of the shotgun. Renfrow will be running a slant route to Carr’s left with Zay Jones running a drag from the slot position.
Renfrew does a great job of stemming from the perfect angle for breaking inside on the slant. He exhibits his quickness at the top of his route to create separation and a good window for Carr. The quarterback hits him right in between the numbers, and Renfrow breaks two tackle on the way to a 65-yard touchdown.
Downfield Threat
Renfrow didn’t win downfield much when he was at Clemson where he was mostly used on underneath routes. During his rookie season, Renfrow was able to win downfield on multiple occasions.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Renfrow’s number was called on this third and six early in the second quarter. The Raiders offense is in an 11 personnel 3×1 bunch set out of the shotgun. Renfrow is the inside receiver on the bunch and will be running a delayed corner against the Bengals man to man coverage.
The former Clemson Tiger does a fantastic job on the delayed route allowing the other receivers to cross before he stems, causing confusion between the defensive backs. Once he stems out, he immediately wins and has separation from William Jackson. Carr throws a little off, but Renfrow shows off his tracking skills and can find the football with a terrific catch for the first down.
While this next play didn’t work out, it still displays Renfrow’s ability to get open on third down. Against the Broncos Week 17, the Raiders are facing a third and one on their first drive of the game.
Raiders are in a 2×2 set with Renfrow to the left of Carr. Renfrow will be running an out and up and wins easily on the outside with plenty of room for completion. Carr puts too much air into the throw, and Renfrow can’t find a way to get under it.
Mental Processing Versus Zone
The best area Renfrow adds to the Raiders offense is his ability to find the holes in the zone defense. Teams ran zone coverages against the Raiders 80 percent of the time according to sports info solutions the last six weeks. Renfrow missed three of those games, and his presence was felt against the zone right away.
This play against the Chargers in the ultimate example of how Renfrow uses his football intelligence. The Raiders are in a 3×1 set running the Ohio concept with Renfrow running the out route from the slot position. The Chargers are in cover 2, which will allow the boundary corner to play the underneath routes that come his way.
After the snap, Renfrow recognizes the zone coverage, and when he runs his out route turns his body towards Carr to give him an open window. This way, Carr can put the pass right on him instead of leading him right into the corner who is coming back down to his zone. This adjustment by Renfrow allows for the Raiders to earn first down on third and five.
It’s crazy to think about, but Renfrow has a chance to be a star player in the slot. He even displayed the ability to possibly play outside the numbers with his route running and ability to get open on double moves.
The chemistry between him a Carr is healthy, and you can tell by the way they connect on the field the quarterback trust him on third down. Renfrow got better as the season went along, and his year two might be a more substantial jump than many will be expecting.
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