With the addition of Davante Adams, the Raiders suddenly have one of the best groups of pass-catchers in the league. No other team in the NFL has a receiver as productive as Adams, the best pure slot receiver in the league in Hunter Renfrow and a dynamic pass-catching tight end like Darren Waller.
In a recent article by Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus, he ranked all 32 teams’ receiving corps heading into the 2022 season. It should be noted that he included the tight end position, as well.
So where did the Raiders finish compared to the rest of the league? Linsey put them at No. 5. Here is what he had to say about the much-improved unit heading into the 2022 season:
“The Raiders, like the Eagles, made a splash for a wide receiver who can separate against any coverage and win at all levels of the field. Davante Adams has commanded a target on a league-high 30% of his routes over the past three seasons. He’ll likely be open enough to warrant a similar figure in Las Vegas, but he’ll also be surrounded by more receiving talent.
Tight end Darren Waller‘s play slightly declined as he battled injury in 2021, but he ranked second among tight ends in PFF’s Wins Above Replacement metric across the 2019 and 2020 seasons. And Hunter Renfrow has developed into a reliable target over the middle of the field for quarterback Derek Carr, leading the Raiders in receiving conversions in 2021 (51).”
As long as Derek Carr can stay upright, the Raiders should be able to put up a ton of points this season. They have finally surrounded him with the right type of weapons and they have a group of receivers who fit well with one another.
