Oakland Raiders: 4 UDFA’s Who Could Make The 53-Man Roster

Nov 29, 2014; Fresno, CA, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs wide receiver Josh Harper (3) runs with the ball after making a catch against the Hawaii Warriors in the second quarter at Bulldog Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Harper – Wide Receiver

Oakland is a team in search of offense. They upgraded their offensive unit dramatically through the draft, with the addition of Amari Cooper and Clive Walford. But for a team that scored fewer than sixteen points a game last season, you can’t have too much offense.

With a receiving corps that features Cooper, Rod Streater, Michael Crabtree – and for now, Andre Holmes, Brice Butler, and Kenbrell Thompkins – it is one that is significantly better than the 2014 version. But that doesn’t mean that McKenzie and Del Rio won’t still be looking for ways to make it better.

And what better way to make the Raiders’ receiving corps better than to include QB Derek Carr‘s former favorite target in Harper? In 2013 – Carr’s final year, and Harper’s junior year at Fresno State – the pair combined for 79 receptions that totaled 1,011 yards, and thirteen touchdowns.

There is an obvious level of comfort between Carr and Harper – one that could potentially be explosive for the Raiders’ offense. And with Del Rio and Musgrave planning on implementing an up-tempo, spread attack – or at least elements of it – into Oakland’s offensive scheme this year, it makes sense that they’d want to include somebody that Carr is already comfortable with, and somebody who is already familiar with the system.

If nothing else, it can help make teaching that system to Streater, Cooper, and Crabtree – none of whom have operated in that style of attack – all the simpler.

There are many who don’t believe that either Thompkins or Butler will make the 53-man roster this year. Neither factored into the game plan all that much last season. So if one or both of them are moved out, might it pave the way for Harper to slide in? Quite possibly.

None of these four are a lock to make the team. But they’re intriguing enough at least, that McKenzie and Del Rio were beating down their doors moments after the draft had been wrapped up.

They may be nothing more than camp bodies, and potential fodder for the practice squad. But based on Oakland’s needs, and their skill set, all four of them make some amount of sense.

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