Sep 18, 2011; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Denarius Moore (17) celebrates a touchdown reception during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Raiders have done a very good job in picking gem receivers. Jacoby Ford, Denarius Moore, and Rod Streater were unheard of before the Raiders implemented them into their offense.

However, none of these receiver have really proven themselves as consistent game changers. Raider Nation has seen glimpses of greatness from all three, but are they considered elite?

I believe Ford and Moore have great potential of one day becoming part of an elite receiving unit. But in order for this to happen the team cannot rely on young unproven talent such as Juron Criner and Rod Streater. The latter of the two played a big role in Oakland’s 2012 offense, but that doesn’t make him a great or even good receiver.

What the Oakland Raiders need is veteran talent. Somebody who has proven themselves to be of great use. Free agents like Brandon Lloyd and Joshua Cribbs remain unsigned. If McKenzie could find enough cap space for even Mike Sims-Walker or Austin Collie it most likely would yield better results than relying on undrafted free agents to fill in the thin depth at receiver. Not saying Streater wont get his catches, but I don’t see him as someone worth relying on (of course I still hope Streater proves me wrong).

Personally I think the speed of Joshua Cribbs would match up well with the burning speed of Jacoby Ford. These two would open up Denarius Moore like a book.

When I look at great receiving corps two squads come to mind. First, the 2012 Atlanta Falcons. Using Roddy White and Julio Jones to draw off defenders, Harry Douglas, found himself wide open. The three player tandem worked so well the Falcons often found themselves able to drive down into field goal position with less than a minute on the clock. This offense won games for this team.

The second team I look at is the Green Bay Packers. The use of Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and Jordy Nelson won them a Super Bowl. And they helped Matt Flynn set a Packer record against the Detroit Lions.

Of course both of these teams have excellent quarterbacks in Matty Ice and A-Rod. But it surely benefits these throwers to have such great communication between receivers, giving them the ability to open each other up.

Can Rod Streater become a Harry Douglas or would Oakland be better off with a Josh Cribbs? Surely it would help with depth in injury situations. After all Oakland finds themselves in that predicament quite often. If you disagree with me feel free to inform me on your idea of what Oakland should do with their pass catchers. The comment box is right below.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Conventional wisdom is that it takes three years to properly evaluate a draft class. Well we don’t need to wait another year to know Denarius Moore has outperformed his draft stock. Most of Raider Nation was aware of that before he even played his first NFL game. Moore was an instant star in his first training camp and has since gone on to out-perform all but 3 of the 17 receivers taken ahead of him in the 2011 NFL Draft. For the record those three men are Pro Bowlers A.J. Green and Julio Jones plus Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith. So Moore is already in elite company with regards to his classmates.

But the novelty of his diamond in the rough status will officially have worn off once the Raiders open camp in 2013. The time has come for Moore to up his status from unexpected contributor to dynamic playmaker.

We all know he’s capable of stretching the field like an unemployed man’s Randy Moss. We also know he can make the type of plays that can turn the tide of game in mere seconds.

All that remains is for Moore to do his thing with more consistency.

After a breakout rookie season Moore began his sophomore campaign looking like he was well on his way to making his #17 jersey an official seller in every NFL shop. Then Oakland’s offense slowed to a crawl and his production and consistency went south like so many football fans flocking to New Orleans last week.

Injury issues definitely didn’t help his cause but he never missed another game after sitting out the season opener. Still it’s hard to ignore his receptions, yardage, touchdowns and yards per catch all taking drastic dips from Week 11 until the end of the season.

In once seven game stretch from weeks 2 through 10 Moore caught 34 balls for 575 yards and 5 TDs. After that he only managed 17 catches for 196 yards a two TDs.  Clearly his role in the offense became confused as Greg Knapp struggled to understand how best to use his talent. Moore also didn’t give the same type of effort seemingly frustrated like all members of the Raiders’ offense became after watching Darren McFadden run into the back of his O-line on every carry.

There is no doubt Moore can easily become the Raiders’ first 1,000 yard receiver since the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. did so back in ’05. That would mean he’d become more than just a favorite of Raider Nation, he’d also become a highly sought after fantasy stud.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

With the NFL season officially underway it’s officially time to start monitoring injury reports. During the preseason precautionary measures make it difficult to gauge the severity of an injury. Take Denarius Moore for example.

Until today Moore had been held out of most every practice during the preseason and this week as well which marked the start of the regular season. But as noted that was until today.

For the first time in a long time Moore was able to participate in practice, albeit on a limited level. Even though Dennis Allen is still proclaiming the wait and see approach most speculate that Moore will be good to go for the Monday Night opener. That’s great news considering how ineffective Oakland’s offense looked during the preseason. Getting a weapon like Moore back only helps to improve on some otherwise listless showings.

Many feel as if Moore’s hamstring injury wasn’t as severe as his time off might indicate. There is plenty of reason to believe he was shutdown so as not to make it worse.

Another injury issue of significant concern relates to Stefen Wisniewski. The New Wiz is entering the true beginning of his NFL career as he moves to his natural position of center having played guard as a rookie. He too was not very involved during the preseason and he too was in practice today though Wisniewski was a full participant.

Baring any major setbacks we should expect to see #61 in front of Carson Palmer come the first snap of the season.

The Raiders are definitely thin at almost every position this year so any and every first teamer that is cleared to play will provide a great lift no matter the extent of their involvement. Of course getting all of the players that have missed time on the same page with those that have been grinding through camp is another story. But that’s why Coach Allen gets paid the big bucks.