The Oakland Raiders Should Sign Pierre Garcon

The Oakland Raiders head into the 2017 offseason with a relatively strong roster, but have some holes that could be filled via free agency.

The Oakland Raiders present a very strong roster on paper, but have some clear holes that need to be filled if they want to have a real shot at making a deep playoff run in 2017.

One position in particular that is in need of an upgrade is the slot receiver position, which was occupied by Seth Roberts in 2016.

Roberts became a fan favorite early in his career, mostly due to being a feel good story as an undrafted free agent. Seth quickly established himself as a player who had a knack for making clutch plays at opportune times.

Through the first eight games of the season, Roberts racked up 25 receptions for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns — not too shabby for a receiver who is the third wheel to Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. The next eight games, though, his production fell dramatically. During second half of the season, Seth only registered 13 receptions for 120 yards and 1 touchdown.

Along with the below average stat line, Roberts had a multitude of drops that came at very bad times during games. Some of his drops were complete drive/momentum killers for the offense. According to sportingcharts.com, Roberts had a drop rate of 6.5 percent, despite only getting 77 targets. Roberts was tied for the 6th most dropped passes in the NFL.

With that being said, it’s apparent that the Raiders are in need of an upgrade at the position. And Pierre Garcon fits the bill.

Garcon, who most recently played for the Washington Redskins, had a very solid 2016 campaign. On the season, Pierre recorded 79 receptions for 1,041 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Along with the stats as proof of his production, Garcon would bring reliable hands to the position. Sportingcharts.com had Garcon with just one recorded drop for the 2016 season, which led to an outstanding 0.9% drop rate on 114 targets.

That type of reliability would significantly improve the offense. Think about all the dropped passes Seth Roberts had in 2016, and replace that production with a player who catches the ball 99.1 percent of the time.

Garcon could also immensely help Amari Cooper. Thanks to his ability to play on the outside, Cooper could occasionally be used as a mismatch nightmare in the slot. Putting Cooper in the slot would then open up things for Michael Crabtree. And if the pass game is more effective, the run game becomes more effective. And if the run game is more effective, the play action is more effective.

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No matter how you look at it, adding a talented third wide receiver to the mix, such as Garcon, helps the offense.

Another underrated aspect to Garcon’s game would be his leadership. He will be entering his 10th NFL season, and will be 31 years old when the 2017 season begins. Presumably, Garcon would rather be apart of a playoff caliber team that has a real shot at making it to the Super Bowl, as opposed to getting cashed out by a lower-level team.

Being able to add players via free agency will surely be tough this offseason, considering the Raiders will be needing to extend some key players this offseason, such as Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, and Gabe Jackson.

With all that said, if Reggie McKenzie were to able get Garcon to sign a team friendly two-year contract, I don’t think he would regret it. Garcon could surely be apart of something special in Oakland, or he could take his money and finish his career with a non-playoff team and not sniff another Super Bowl appearance.

The choice is simply his.