Oakland Raiders: Keelan Doss had a special first NFL training camp

The Oakland Raiders may not have drafted Keelan Doss, but he is becoming a household name for the franchise in his first NFL training camp.

The Oakland Raiders made some big moves in terms of the wide receiver group this offseason, trading for elite wideout Antonio Brown, as well as bringing in Tyrell Williams via free agency. For a team that finished with Jordy Nelson atop the depth chart in 2018, the Raiders now head into 2019 with wide receiver as a strength, and they have some tough decisions to make going forward.

In addition to Williams, the Raiders also added J.J. Nelson and Ryan Grant via free agency, two guys who could certainly play a big role in the offense this season. In the 2019 NFL Draft, they selected Clemson wideout Hunter Renfrow, who is definitely going to get a lot of playing time in the slot in his rookie year.

Those five players are certainly going to get a long look from Jon Gruden, as he begins to shape this roster for Week 1. With Dwayne Harris likely coming back as the return man in Oakland, that means guys like Keelan Doss, Rico Gafford, Marcell Ateman, and Keon Hatcher are all on the bubble.

For Doss, he has been very impressive this summer, and while the Raiders got him as an undrafted free agent, many believe he could stick when the team kicks off the regular season in three weeks.

ESPN recently named their training camp MVPs for all 32 NFL teams, and for the Raiders, the choice was easy. Looking at the Raiders roster, the media outlet named Doss the team’s MVP for training camp, and rightfully so.

Doss not only made a bid to make the team, but he did it against all odds, as the Raiders are pretty strong at the wide receiver position heading into 2019. Luckily for Doss, Antonio Brown being out led to him getting reps he likely would not have gotten, and he made the most of his opportunities.

The Alameda native scored a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in front of the home fans in preseason game No. 1, before hauling in a team-high five catches against the Arizona Cardinals the following week. In addition to his strong play during the two preseason games, he has also been a standout in camp, and has put himself in position to be the team’s No. 6 wideout heading into the regular season.

The Raiders are not expected to play many of their established starters the rest of the preseason, which means Doss will continue to get plenty of opportunities to make this team this summer. For once, the Raiders have a lot of talent up and down the roster, and guys like Doss are going to make it very hard for head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock during cuts.