Oakland Raiders: 3 Reasons To Be Excited, 3 Reasons To Be Worried
By Kevin Saito
December 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) tosses the football to the referee during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Bills 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Reason To Be Excited #3 – A Vibrant And Dynamic Passing Attack
With the selection of Alabama’s Amari Cooper, fourth overall, in the recently concluded NFL Draft, the Raiders picked up a proven difference maker. He instantly makes the Raiders’ offense better, and gives second year QB Derek Carr a legitimate weapon to work with – one that defenses will have no choice but to respect.
For the first time in seemingly forever, the Raiders will have a receiving corps that can do a lot of different things well. With newcomer Michael Crabtree playing inside, Cooper and Rod Streater – returning from an injury that sidelined him for all but three games of the 2014 season – playing outside, and rotational guys like Andre Holmes, Kenbrell Thompkins, and Brice Butler, the Raiders will have a more formidable receiving corps than they’ve had in quite some time.
Beyond that though, defenses will now have to account for Roy Helu catching passes out of the backfield, and a dynamic pass catching tight end tandem in Mychal Rivera and third round pick Clive Walford to contend with. Rivera and Walford will provide an incredibly lethal 1-2 punch for the Raiders offense – most especially down in the red zone.
Derek Carr is not lacking for offensive weapons this season.
We are still anticipating changes to Oakland’s receiving group. Most expect to see Thompkins and/or Butler moved out, and perhaps some of the Raiders’ UDFA’s – perhaps Carr’s former favorite target at Fresno State, Josh Harper? – moved in. Whatever tweaks and fine tuning they make though, with a solid base of Streater, Cooper, Crabtree, and Holmes, the Raiders receiving group looks more solid, and far more dynamic than it has in quite some time.
With the additions of Crabtree, Walford, and Cooper, among others, an Oakland offense that scored less than sixteen points per game last season was upgraded significantly, and should find that being able to stick the ball in the endzone and score some points, might not be such a Herculean task in 2015.
Having so many different, and dangerous, options will only help an Oakland offense that sorely needed it.