Oakland Raiders: New offensive additions prove to be tremendous help

After a long offseason with plenty of additions, the Oakland Raiders expected to have a fun offense. Who thought they would help out this much in Week 1?

When the 2017 offseason began, practically everybody knew that running back Latavius Murray would eventually leave to join greener….er, more purple pastures. Another key departure for the Silver and Black was wide receiver Andre Holmes, who left to join the Buffalo Bills. There were some serious new additions to this Oakland Raiders team, and they showed off their chops in the first game of the season.

Right after last season ended, there were rumors that Marshawn Lynch would come out of retirement to sign with his hometown Raiders. After a month of speculation, the Raiders would make a trade with the Seahawks for the rights of Lynch, who would later choose to sign with the team.

In training camp, he showed time and time again that he was ready to be back on the field. In the preseason, the team limited his carries. There is just no need for a veteran running back to get a ton of preseason carries, especially if they’re already the team’s starter.

The time was ripe for Lynch to make his debut, it finally came on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. He powered his way through the Titans line all game long, including this devastating run at the end of the game. Lynch ran right over Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey.

Lynch may be the biggest name on the additions to the squad, but he wasn’t the only veteran to join the Raiders in the offseason.

Jared Cook and Cordarrelle Patterson both decided to come join the dark side. Last season, both players spent their seasons in the NFC North. Cook with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, Cordarrelle with Sam Bradford and the Minnesota Vikings.

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They took different paths towards the end of the season. Patterson was falling out of favor with the Vikings coaching staff.

They showed in the draft they were looking to go younger at the receiver position, drafting Laquon Treadwell in 2016. Cook was one of the Packers most important players all season long, even making that catch.

In their first games with Oakland, they performed quite well. Cook was able to haul in five catches for over 50 yards. Those are not eye-popping numbers, but with yet another weapon out there for Derek Carr.

He will take defenders away from Amari Cooper, thus opening up more opportunities for him as a pass catcher. Patterson may have only had one catch for two yards on the offensive side, but he did return a kick for 41 yards that set up the offense nicely.

Next: 5 Raiders who helped themselves vs. Titans

Last season, the Raiders had one of the most potent offenses in the league. With the addition of these three players, there is a great chance that they jump to the top of the NFL in total yards gained this season. There should be quite a few high scoring explosions throughout the season. This is just the beginning.