Oakland Raiders: Crabtree’s release is the best thing to happen to Cooper

The Oakland Raiders shook up their receiving corps, but it could turn out to be the best thing to happen to their former first-round pick.

When Oakland Raiders HC John Gruden sent Michael Crabtree packing, it raised some eyebrows and drew some outrage. The howls of outrage grew louder when Gruden immediately replaced Crabtree with the older Jordy Nelson.

Not that Gruden really cares what any of us think.

On the surface, it’s a swap of players that didn’t make a lot of sense. Both were coming off very down years in terms of production – after posing 922 yards and then 1,003 yards in his first two seasons with the Raiders, Crabtree dipped to just 618 receiving yards in 2017.

That, more than anything though, is indicative of just how poor the offense as a whole was under the stewardship of former-OC Todd Downing.

Nelson, on the other hand, had posted two years (2013-14) with 1,314 and 1,519 yards respectively, racking up 21 touchdowns along the way as Aaron Rodgers‘ favorite target. An injury robbed him of his 2015 season, but he rebounded in 2016 with 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns – winning the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award for his efforts.

2017 though, was a disaster for Nelson as his production slipped to just 482 yards on 53 receptions with six touchdowns. Not having Rodgers throwing to him for most of the year obviously had a very detrimental impact on Nelson.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

For better or for worse – and we won’t know how it all pans out until the season gets underway – the deal was made and the dust has now settled.

But, there is one player who is could potentially benefit tremendously from Crabtree’s absence – and no, it’s not Donald Penn who seemed glad to see Crabtree go. Crabtree being released and replaced with Nelson could be the best thing that could have possibly happened to Amari Cooper.

When the Raiders drafted Cooper back in 2015, it was with the intention of being their number one receiver. And though he was outstanding in his rookie and sophomore seasons – posting 1,070 yards and 1,153 yards respectively – he wasn’t the clear cut number one most expected him to be.

He was sharing those duties with Crabtree, and in some cases, seemed to very clearly take a back seat in the offense.

Think about. His rookie season, he was targeted 130 times. That’s a lot of targets, right? Yeah, except Crabtree was targeted 146 times, had more receptions (85 to 72), and hauled in nine touchdowns to Cooper’s six.

That stellar sophomore, 1,153 yard season? He was targeted 132 times, while Crabtree was targeted 145 times. Crabtree also hauled in eight touchdowns to Cooper’s five. Even last season, Crabtree was targeted 101 times to Cooper’s 96.

It’s not what you’d expect from your team’s number one receiving option, is it?

Next: Five Reasons Raiders Could Miss The Playoffs In 2018

Consider the fact that teams that do have what you’d consider a true number one, the distribution of passes is far different. Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins had 174 targets last year – number two on the squad was Bruce Ellington with 57.

Cincinnati’s clear number one, A.J. Green, led his team with 143 targets, while Brandon LaFell was second with 89. Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown led the way with 163 targets and running back Le’Veon Bell came in second with 106.

Heck, even Nelson’s former teammate DaVante Adams, Green Bay’s obvious number one, led the Packers with 117 targets – Nelson was third with just 88 total targets.

You can go through every team and see the same pattern all over. The point is, teams that have a number one wideout, a genuine playmaker and game change, find ways to get him the ball with more frequency than Carr has looked to Cooper.

Not that having two solid receiving options is necessarily a bad thing. But, the argument could be made that having Crabtree as his favorite target (and security blanket), has somewhat hindered Cooper’s development as a number one receiver in this league – what he was at Alabama and what he was drafted to be in Oakland.

With Gruden already putting him on notice that he’s going to be the “focal point of the offense,” Cooper is finally going to have to step out from Crabtree’s shadow and perform like the number one he’s supposed to be – rather than the 1B, he’s been to Crabtree’s 1A to this point in his career.

Which also makes having a solid, sure-handed, veteran like Nelson all the more valuable. Nelson isn’t going to challenge Cooper for positioning at the top of the food chain, but he is going to provide Carr with a very reliable target who can help move the chains and keep defenses from being able to key too hard on Cooper.

Of course, they’re also going to need more from Seth Roberts this season – a lot more. But, that’s a different discussion for a different day.

For today, the focus is on Cooper and whether or not he can step up to be this team’s Antonio Brown or DeAndre Hopkins. Can he be the guy in that receiver’s room? Can he bear the weight of the team’s passing offense on his shoulders?

Related Story: The More King Talks, The More He Proves Gruden Right

Given his first two seasons in the league, you’d like to believe that he can. And certainly, if he wants to be paid like a number one, rather than a complementary piece, he’s going to have to step up into that role. He’s going to have to perform at the highest level – which includes limiting the number of times he drops the ball.

Now that he doesn’t have Crabtree’s shadow looming over him, there’s nowhere left for Cooper to run, and nowhere left for him to hide. It’s time to throw Cooper into the deep end of the pool where he can either sink, or swim.

The spotlight is going to be firmly on him and we’re finally going to see if he can actually be the number one most think he’s capable of being.