Four observations from Raiders HBO Hard Knocks episode 3

Has Luke Willson showed enough to crack the roster?

Hard Knocks showcased a large amount of Luke Willson airtime in episode three. Willson has mainly gone unnoticed on Hard Knocks up to this point, other than the short footage of him and Jonathan Abram smack talking each other in episode one.

This is Willson’s third stop over his seven-year career. He’s predominately served as a backup tight end, who does most of his work in the trenches. He only saw live action in preseason game No.2 where he caught one pass for four-yards. There’s still not much for the coaches to go off of from just one game.

Despite not being much of a threat in the passing game, he gives the Raiders a veteran in the tight end group who can help mold Darren Waller and Foster Moreau. It also gives the Raiders some flexibility having Willson on the roster, not forcing them to play the rookie, Moreau right away.

Hard Knocks also gave us a closer look to what some of the players off days look like. They followed Willson for an off day in Sausalito, where he spent the day on a boat with his father enjoying northern California.

Gruden appears to like Willson, so if he can put together a solid performance in preseason game No.3 and No.4 then he’ll help plead his case to make the final-53 man roster once final cuts roll around.