Oakland Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 8 loss to Houston Texans
By Nico Di Fede
The Oakland Raiders 2019 draft class had a couple of newcomers see playing time in their 24-27 loss to the Houston Texans. Let’s see how they fared in the increased playing time.
The Oakland Raiders suffered a tough loss in a winnable game against the Houston Texans this past Sunday, making their hopes of a wild card berth a little more out of reach.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, the offensive side of the ball played well, and there were positive contributions from this rookie class on both sides of the ball — maybe more than any game this season.
With Rodney Hudson going out early, undrafted free agent center from UCLA Andre James filled in his place. And with the trade of cornerback Gareon Conley, Trayvon Mullen made the first start in his career, logging a meaningful amount of snaps for the first time since Week 1.
Hunter Renfrow played a higher percentage of offensive snaps than usual with 64 percent and Maxx Crosby playing the majority of the defensive snaps with 89 percent.
With that, it’s easy to see how the 2019 rookie class as a whole had more of an impact on this game than any other of the season — and it was almost entirely positive.