Oakland Raiders: Ranking The AFC West By Position Group – Wide Receivers
By Kevin Saito
Oakland Raiders
With a pair of 1,000 yard receivers in Michael Crabtree (1,003) and Amari Cooper (1,153) at the top of the depth chart, Oakland’s passing offense is in better shape than it’s been in quite some time.
Mix in a slot receiver like Seth Roberts or the newly acquired Cordarrelle Patterson to go along with solid down the depth chart options like Jaydon Mickens, K.J. Brent, and Johnny Holton, and the Raiders look like they’ve got one of the most stacked receiving groups, not just in the division, but in the entire NFL.
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But that’s not to say their group is perfect. Far from it. To take that next step and potentially give the Raiders one of the most prolific offenses they’ve ever had they’re going to need to tighten things up.
To take that next step in their development though, they are going to need a solid, sixteen game effort from Amari Cooper in 2017. He more or less disappeared down the back half of the season last year and the team needs him to stay consistent and productive all year long. The offense can’t afford to have Cooper pull a vanishing act in the latter stages of the year.
The other issue that really needs to be cleaned up is – dropped passes, of course.
Last season, the Raiders were second in the NFL in drops with 29. And this wasn’t a new phenomenon – the Raiders have been in the top three in dropped passes in a few consecutive seasons now. Those dropped passes have stalled out promising drives, killed momentum within a game, and have been a general nuisance overall.
The drops have hurt the offense and have held it back. They’ve also held Carr back a bit. It’s an issue that’s been ongoing and one the Raiders really need to clean up sooner rather than later.
Despite having some issues that need to be cleaned up and fixed, the Raiders still have one of the most loaded, dominant, and dynamic receiving groups in the entire league. It’s a unit that can help this organization reach heights it’s not been to in a long, long time.