The Oakland Raiders have added Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree to the offense as starters for quarterback Derek Carr this offseason and those players should help improve things on that side of the ball along with Latavius Murray and Trent Richardson and this comes as the team has also brought in Clive Walford in the NFL draft to give Mychal Rivera depth at tight end.
The Raiders have done a solid job over the past two years in the draft and most experts agree that they continued that this season. The Raiders got high marks overall from most draft experts, especially with their first three selections. Amari Cooper was the number four overall pick in the draft and Mel Kiper writes that he could be the "star" of the first round at wide receiver. Cooper is coming off of a monster year and he adds a great weapon to the offense for Carr.
The Raiders went defense with the second overall pick, taking Mario Edwards from Florida State at defensive end. Reggie McKenzie said that the team expected Edwards to be off the board by the time they picked in the second round and he feels that Edwards can be a starter right away. Last season the team picked Khalil Mack and he turned out to be the real deal and now they should have a consistent pass rush from the defensive line.
Trent Richardson was signed as a free agent this offseason along with Roy Helu and he is expected to be the top back on the depth chart. Richardson and Latavius Murray likely will compete and right now it looks like Richardson will have a leg up as long as he shows he is ready to bounce back from two tough years in Indianapolis.
Clive Walford was considered to be one of the best tight ends in the draft along with Maxx Williams and he went to the Raiders in the third round. Walford comes in after playing three seasons with Miami and he has great size for his position and could be a fantastic red zone threat for Oakland. Walford is 6-4, 263 lbs and he should be a great option behind Rivera, who has similar size and skills. Bill Williamson writes that Rivera likely opens the season as the starter, but adds that Walford should push for playing time.
The Raiders hoped that Rivera and Nick Kasa could form a productive duo at tight end for Carr ala Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez for the Patriots, but that has not worked out well with Kasa so far. McKenzie sees Walford as a major contributor and he said that Walford could be the best tight end in the draft and that his stats were skewed due to the QB play at Miami the past three years.
Walford is athletic and he finished his career with 87 catches for 1299 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last season Walford set career highs with 44 catches for 676 yards and seven touchdowns and he did not deal with any major injuries in college, playing in all 12 games in the past three years. The addition of Walford may help Rivera, as he could get some clean releases in sets when the two are on the field together. Last season Rivera set career highs with 58 catches for 534 yards in 16 games.
