We are just days away from the Raiders putting on the pads and starting training camp. But we still have a few more days of “ranking season” before then. This time, the fine folks over at ESPN, ranked the 32 teams by their offensive weapons heading into the 2021 season.
Not surprisingly, the site does not love the weapons around Derek Carr. Here is a snippet of what Bill Barnwell had to say about the unit:
“The Raiders keep hanging around this spot while they try to find an identity at wide receiver. Of course, their No. 1 weapon is a true superstar in tight end Darren Waller, who followed a 1,145-yard campaign in 2019 with a 1,196-yard season. The former Ravens draftee needed 28 more targets to get those yards, but he did produce nine touchdowns after somehow racking up only three in 2019. Having this sort of advantage at tight end helps push the Raiders up past teams with better wideouts.”
Their biggest complaint about the unit was the lack of a No. 1 receiver. But as Barnwell mentioned, Waller is the No. 1 passing option for the Raiders. But there is still a lot to learn about the rest of the weapons.
The Raiders are hoping that second-year receivers Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards can take big steps forward this year. But if they don’t, the team will lean on veterans such as John Brown and Hunter Renfrow to carry the passing offense.
This isn’t the most star-studded receiving corps in the NFL, but it was good enough to be one of the top-10 offenses last season. As long as Waller is healthy, the Raiders will be just fine when it comes to weapons in the passing game.
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