Oakland Raiders: Top 3 position battles to watch in training camp
By Nico Di Fede
The Oakland Raiders training camp in Napa, CA is coming up next month, so let’s go over three position battles that should be the most competitive.
Training camp is coming up and the Oakland Raiders are set to report to Napa, CA on the 26th of July. The Raiders made plenty of moves in free agency this year as well as the draft with a plethora of high picks gained from trades.
On top of that, the team made some notable undrafted free agent signings, to the point where it is pretty much a new team from last year.
There are a few position groups on the team where good players are going to have to be let go — something that hasn’t been common with the team in recent years — so the coaching staff will have some tough decisions to make.
These acquisitions have made the roster go from the oldest in the league in 2018 to one of the youngest as of now. New faces mean new position battles, so let’s go over what should be three of the most competitive ones.
1. Wide Receiver
Arguably the deepest position on the team, the coaches are going to have a tough time making cuts when it comes to this group.
Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, Ryan Grant, Hunter Renfrow, Dwayne Harris, Marcell Ateman, Keelan Doss, Keon Hatcher, Rico Gafford, Montay Crockett, Brian Burt & Saeed Blacknall are the current receivers on the roster, with the first three along with Renfrow and Harris almost guaranteed spots.
That makes five receivers, though Harris will rarely if ever actually get snaps on offense being solely a returner.
There is no need to go over Brown or Williams as they are already locked in as the starters let alone making the team. The rest of the list is where things get interesting.
Nelson and Grant will be battling for the majority of snaps in the slot, though both are complete opposites in play style. Nelson is a burner who can take the top off a defense with his 4.28 speed. Grant, on the other hand, is a big body who can find soft spots in the defense with sure hands and solid route running as well as be a red zone threat.
Nelson had a down year last season only catching seven passes for 64 yards, while Grant put up 334 yards on 35 receptions with one touchdown. Both players have similar career production though, and so the winner of the job will likely come down to play style.
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The Raiders haven’t had a small, speedy slot receiver who is a vertical threat since Jacoby Ford whose success was short-lived itself. That along with the fact that Ateman is a similar type of receiver as Grant but younger is why Nelson likely gets the nod there.
Rookie Hunter Renfrow is also a possibility to take that slot receiver position, but as a rookie, it’s a total unknown how likely that is until camp starts and we see the initial depth charts. Though his spot on the team is all but guaranteed even as a fifth-round pick.
When it comes to the rest of the group, Doss and Ateman are probably the most likely to be battling for the last receiver spot, while the rest are likely just camp bodies.
While Doss is the most intriguing of this group, you never know which young guys will step up and he may end up being cut earlier than Raider fans expect especially being an undrafted free agent.
Prediction: WR1 – Antonio Brown, WR2 – Tyrell Williams, Slot – J.J. Nelson, WR4 – Hunter Renfrow, WR/KR – Dwayne Harris, Depth WR – Keelan Doss, Notable Cuts: Ryan Grant, Marcell Ateman