Oakland Raiders: Way-too-early 53-man roster predictions

Wide Receivers

Roster: Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, Hunter Renfrow, Dwayne Harris, Marcell Ateman (6)

Cuts: Ryan Grant, Keelan Doss, Keon Hatcher, Saeed Blacknall, Brian Burt, Rico Gafford (6)

There may be no more interesting position battle this summer than that at wide receiver. In reality, the only locks at the position are the newly acquired Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, and rookie Hunter Renfrow.

Brown and Williams should both serve as the starting outside receivers with the Clemson rookie Renfrow playing the role as the team’s primary slot target. However, it would be wise for the Raiders to move Brown all over the field and give him snaps from both the boundary and slot.

Expect Oakland to retain the newly signed J.J. Nelson as a downfield deep threat and Dwyane Harris gets the nod for his special teams and returning acumen. The final spot was a toss up but we decided to go with 2018 seventh-rounder Marcell Ateman.

Ateman is a big-bodied, physical receiver whose mold isn’t really seen anywhere else on the roster. Expect local UC Davis product Keelan Doss to give this spot a good run but in our scenario, they wind up trying to sneak the FCS standout on to their practice squad.

A veteran like Ryan Grant could also take this spot but after disappointing in Indianapolis last season, Grant could once again find himself looking for employment.