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Oakland Raiders: 5 takeaways from Week 1 victory over the Denver Broncos

By Nico Di Fede

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders meets fans on the sideline during the warm up before the game against the Denver Broncos at RingCentral Coliseum on September 09, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders meets fans on the sideline during the warm up before the game against the Denver Broncos at RingCentral Coliseum on September 09, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Oakland Raiders
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 09: Tight end Darren Waller #83 of the Oakland Raiders tries to avoid the tackle of cornerback Isaac Yiadom #26 of the Denver Broncos in the first quarter of the game at RingCentral Coliseum on September 09, 2019 in Oakland, California. Oakland Raiders (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

1. Darren Waller seems to be Derek Carr’s go-to guy

We heard a lot of good things about Darren Waller this offseason, especially in training camp. He’s pretty much been penciled in as the starter all offseason with no real battle in place for his spot.

We heard the coaches hype him up about the same things last offseason as well though and with only 18 career receptions for 178 yards prior to this game, it was hard to be truly confident about the tight end position and whether Waller is really the guy.

Well, so far that question seems to have been answered as Waller led the team in receptions with seven and was second in yards with 70 in his first game as a starting tight end.

While Tyrell Williams had a lot more yards with 105, Waller was Derek Carr‘s go-to guy on third down and Waller came through showing he can be reliable and fill in perfectly for what the team lost in Jared Cook who was Carr’s favorite target last year.

It was pretty clear that Carr seems to already have developed chemistry with Waller and we should only expect for that to grow as they have not had many reps together in real game action except for this one game and a few plays here and there last season.

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