Over two seasons with the Raiders, Hunter Renfrow has cemented himself as the primary slot receiver for this team. His nickname has two words in it that just about every receiver in the league would love to have ‘Third-and-Renfrow.’ So, when the team added veteran slot receiver Willie Snead to the mix, there wasn’t the feeling Snead would be a big threat to Renfrow’s job security.
It is possible that Snead can get some of Renfrow’s snaps, however, being that he is a somewhat different kind of slot target than Renfrow. That, too, doesn’t seem to bother Renfrow.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s out there or I’m out there,” Renfrow said of Snead, noting that Trey Quinn and DJ Turner are also trying to find a spot on the roster as slot receivers. Again, with no real threat to Renfrow’s job.
Since Renfrow was drafted, he’s always been a pretty laid-back guy. He jokes easily about not looking like an NFL receiver and the fact that up until the last couple of games of his rookie season, he had never had a 100-yard game at any level. Then he had two.
Some fans may remember Snead’s 172-yard game for the Saints against the Raiders in the 2016 season opener. He would have just one more 100-yard game since then, giving him the same number of 100-yard games in five seasons as Renfrow has had in two.
On the contrary, Renfrow has benefitted from Snead’s presence as a seven-year veteran slot receiver.
“I really enjoy talking to Willie because he’s done it for a while and he’s run a lot of choice routes and a lot of underneath stuff and just how he sees the game,” Renfrow said. “It’s helped me a lot being able to read coverages and skipping off the ball and being able to decipher if they’re playing top hat or if they’re locking it, those little things. Last two years I just feel the defense, now it’s like ‘What are they giving me? What can I take?’ And to know from pre-snap what you’re gonna do.”
What’s funny about this is how often defenses have to know Derek Carr is looking for Renfrow on third down. And yet he always seems to get open to convert. It sure looked like he was taking what he wanted then. But, hey, if he feels that way now, watch out.
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