Tyrell Williams will bring deep threat ability to the Oakland Raiders
By Brad Weiss
Antonio Brown was the big free agent wideout signing for the Oakland Raiders, but Tyrell Williams has a special set of skills he bring with him as well.
At the beginning of the 2019 offseason, the Oakland Raiders made a huge splash, trading a third and fifth round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Antonio Brown. Bringing in Brown gives quarterback Derek Carr an elite weapon at the wide receiver position, as he has been an automatic 100-catches per season over the last six years.
When free agency began, the Raiders added a deep weapon to that wide receiver group, signing Tyrell Williams away from the Los Angeles Chargers. Williams is the kind of guy who can really take the lid off the defense, as he has averaged 16.3 yards per reception during his career, and will certainly get his opportunities deep in this Raiders offense in 2019.
For Williams, his numbers go way beyond just being able to go deep at any time. Over the last two seasons, he actually has more receiving yards than former Raiders No. 1 wideout Amari Cooper, racking up 1,877 to Cooper’s 1,833, while having the same amount of touchdowns (12).
Remember, Cooper was seen as the No. 1 option in this Raiders passing game for years, and now the team has a guy as the second option who has been just as productive. In addition, Williams has a bigger frame, is a better red zone option, and is actually loving being a member of the Silver and Black.
Last season, Carr threw for over 4,000 yards and nearly completed 70 percent of his passes with guys like Cooper, Jordy Nelson, and Marcell Ateman as his top options at wide receiver. In 2019, he will have Brown, Williams, J.J. Nelson, and Hunter Renfrow to throw to, just to name a few of his options.
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Williams adds a special dimension to the offense, and you can believe that head coach Jon Gruden is going to scheme ways to attack teams deep to utilize his skill set. The offensive tackle position is improved in Oakland, which means Carr should have more time to pick teams apart deep, and Williams is the perfect target to do just that.