Oakland Raiders must find Darren Waller early and often

Darren Waller had another strong performance for the Oakland Raiders in Week 2, but it may have been too little too late. Ahead of Sunday, the Raiders must find their top tight end early and often.

When Derek Carr connected with Darren Waller for the first time on Sunday, it resulted in a 16 yard gain that brought the Oakland Raiders to their own 45-yard line. Just like a week earlier, and just like Carr and Jon Gruden have been hyping him up, Waller’s speed looked like a mismatch against the Kansas City defense.

Here’s the issue with that play: it didn’t occur until the 5:44 mark in the second quarter, once Oakland’s lead had ceded their lead and score read 14-10 in favor of Kansas City. Case in point: the Carr and Waller connection started to get going perhaps a little too late.

The Chiefs are arguably among the top five, top three teams in the NFL. But the Raiders’ Week 3 opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, on road will present just as much of a challenge. There really is no margin for error for Oakland this season, and the same will be said on Sunday. Jon Gruden and the Raiders have to be calculated but aggressive, and that means finding your top offensive threats early.

In order words, find Darren Waller and get him going early, and often.

Sunday against the Chiefs, it seemed like Gruden was purposefully steering away from Waller, opting to connect with Derek Carrier instead. It worked early on…until eventually, it didn’t. Perhaps the Raiders were trying to get cute, but in a matter of one quarter they saw the Chiefs pile on 28 straight points and the game was at a point of no return.

Tyrell Williams connected on the first touchdown of the game but then was relatively quiet. He finished as the second-leading receiver for the Raiders in yards. Who was number one? Darren Waller, who finished with six catches on seven targets for 63 yards. Not bad for getting his first reception with five minutes left in the first half, but simply not enough.

The Raiders are still finding their footing in the passing game, as Williams is the go-to number one option but isn’t necessarily a mismatch. The number two receiver spot is still up for grabs, as Hunter Renfrow and Ryan Grant (emphasis on Grant) struggled on Sunday. JJ Nelson is still out and Keelan Doss is still working his way into the offense.

Right now, that leaves Waller as the sole matchup advantage, it’s just a matter of finding him and running plays to get him open. He’ll have an obstacle ahead of him in Harrison Smith on Sunday, but Waller puts the Raiders in a better position to move the chains. Carr and Gruden spoke highly of him for good reason, now find him early and get him going often.