Oakland Raiders: Notes And Observations From Week Seven

Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders tight end Clive Walford (88) catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr (not pictured) during the second quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The Rookie Is Rising

Injured through much of training camp, third round pick Clive Walford has almost been an afterthought in Oakland’s offense. The team has been using veteran Mychal Rivera much more often and has had some success throwing him the ball. But Walford’s talent is making it impossible to keep him off of the field.

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Canes Warning

On Sunday, Walford caught his first NFL touchdown pass – a beautifully thrown 23- yarder down the sideline that the tight end, who’d gotten behind San Diego’s defense hauled in for the score. It was a terrific throw and catch that at the time, put Oakland ahead 17-3.

Of his first career touchdown grab, Walford said:

"“I was so excited and thrilled. He snapped the ball and I saw the way the defender played it. I felt like he was going to come at me, so I ran my route, cut back and saw the ball coming. I knew I had to make a play on it.”"

Walford wants more responsibility and time on the field. And given the fact that the coaching staff is incredibly high on him, as well as the fact that he’s been showing that he can make plays down the field, as well as providing solid blocking on both run and pass plays, we should probably expect to begin seeing more of Walford on Sundays. He adds another dimension to this Oakland offense that makes it more explosive and that much harder to defend.

Next: Dirty Laundry