Oakland Raiders no longer same old losing franchise

Aug 2, 2015; Napa, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders receiver Amari Cooper (89) at training camp at the Napa Valley Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Receivers

With Carr trying to make that jump in year two, it was very important for the Raiders to upgrade their receivers. Last year, they wore defensive backs like a warm coat in the winter time instead of getting open. I originally wasn’t a fan of the Michael Crabtree signing because he looked done last year after popping his Achilles tendon.

But he’s back now with his route-running and ability to go up and get the ball coming back to him. He’s showing in camp why he’s a huge upgrade over last year’s No. 2 receiver Andre Holmes. So with the 2009 No. 10 overall as the No. 2 receiver, the Raiders drafted Amari Cooper No. 4 in 2015 to be the No. 1.

Crabtree has shown his blazing speed and quickness throughout training camp to look uncoverable. This is a real upgrade over James Jones, who in his prime, was a No. 3 receiver but couldn’t get open on No. 1 corners in Oakland. So Cooper has his number and everything to replace him and help Carr make that jump.

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