The Raiders made it a priority to upgrade their wide receiver corps this offseason after missing on Antonio Brown last offseason. It was the one position on offense that kept them from being more consistent as the team was forced to start players like Zay Jones, J.J. Nelson and Trevor Davis at the receiver position.
Not only did the team use the No. 12 pick in the draft on Henry Ruggs, but they used the No. 80 and No. 81 picks on offensive weapons Lynn Bowden Jr. and Bryan Edwards. Edwards will likely get more chances at receiver, but Bowden will undoubtedly get his fair share of snaps in the slot, as well.
The biggest question surrounding the Raiders is if they did enough at receiver to give Derek Carr and the rest offense a chance at being successful this season. In a recent article by Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus, he believes the Raiders still have one of the worst wide receiver units in the NFL, ranking them as the fifth-worst unit in the NFL. Here is a snippet of Palazzolo’s thoughts on the wide receiver corps entering the 2020 season:
They had their pick of any receiver in the draft and went with the fastest option in Henry Ruggs III, who ran a 4.27 at the scouting combine. That speed shows up on the field, too, as Ruggs can get behind the defense or take it to the house on screens or slants. The question is how much he’ll be fed and if he’ll be treated like a true No. 1. Even if Ruggs is an 80-to-100-target receiver who creates big plays and alters gameplans, he’ll add the proper first-round value, but Las Vegas’ expectations might be even higher.
Hunter Renfrow was the highest-graded receiver on the team a year ago, at 75.5 overall, as the rookie caught 49 passes for 605 yards and became a valuable weapon in the slot. Tyrell Williams was signed to stretch the field, and he produced along his career baseline with a 66.7 receiving grade while averaging 15.5 yards per reception. He is a complementary piece who will be most effective if Ruggs does draw most of the defense’s attention.
While it’s okay to be excited about the Raiders’ receiving corps moving forward, the lack of a true No. 1 receiver does knock them down quite a bit on a list like this. However, if Ruggs or Edwards can develop into that type of player, the rest of the receiving corps should work out well as Williams and Renfrow are ideal complementary players.
With the Raiders also having a dynamic receiving tight end in Darren Waller and one of the league’s best running backs in Josh Jacobs, they don’t need a dominant wide receiver corps to have a successful offense. But if they can get anything out of Ruggs or Edwards this season, the Raiders are set up well to be one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Don’t be surprised if this wide receiver unit is ranked significantly higher by this time next season once Ruggs and Edwards have a year under their belt.
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