Oakland Raiders @ Green Bay Packers: Winners and Losers
Losers
Latavius Murray
It’s a contract year for Latavius, which generally increases expectations and level of play. Hopefully that happens, but his performance thus far isn’t creating much optimism.
For one, he doesn’t look like the freak athlete we’ve seen in the past. Again, it’s just the preseason so he’s understandably not putting the pedal to the metal, but he really looks quite sluggish.
Even outside of that, poor vision, running completely upright and not fighting through contact have been issues. He only managed 19 yards on six carries.
Ben Heeney
Maybe it’s the injury and/or maybe he was tired from just having a newborn, but it was a rough game for Heeney.
The main thing is that his struggles against Green Bay were the same issues we saw last year — unable to shed blocks, being hesitant in gaps, over-running the ball carrier.
With the green sticker on his helmet, that puts quite a bit of responsibility on his shoulders. Hopefully he can carry the weight.
Jalen Richard
For the second week in a row, Raiders fans were excited for the debut of camp standout Jalen Richard. And for the second week in a row, Raiders fans were disappointed that he was inactive for the game.
The big drawback here is Richard losing valuable game experience. Camp is one thing, but succeeding in live reps is completely different. It’s hard to say where Jalen stood prior the preseason starting, but he has to be behind Taiwan and GA3 at this point.
D.J. Hayden
After positive news out of camp and confident statements about his game, Hayden is still struggling. The alarming part is that it’s still fundamental areas — not ideal for a fourth-year player.
Not pressing the wide receiver, poor footwork and giving way too much space, and then launching with his shoulder instead of ramping up.
In the final year of his rookie contract, it’s a make or break year for Hayden.
Jaydon Mickens
Johnny Holton, K.J. Brent and Jaydon Mickens are considered the top three candidates for the fifth WR spot. But two games in, it seems that Holton is the clear frontrunner.
With Mickens in particular, he saw zero offensive snaps in preseason week one, and the same thing happened against Green Bay.
Mickens has been given a shot at punt returns, but he muffed a clean punt. If that’s the one area where you are being given a chance, you simply can’t let that happen.