Breaking down the Oakland Raiders search for a No. 2 wide receiver
By Matt Holder
The Projects
Hunter Renfrow
The one downfall of being a successful, high-profile player in college, is many people expect said player to have a smoother transition to the NFL. If the two-time National Champion was a typical fifth-round pick who comes from a middle of nowhere college, and played in pre-Christmas matinée bowl games, just making the team would be viewed as an accomplishment.
However, Hunter Renfrow’s collegiate success generated a lofty and potentially unrealistic outlook for his rookie year.
Trough five games, the receiver has hauled in 12 catches for 101 yards and zero touchdowns. Given his underwhelming production and the Raiders recent trades, Renfrow might be in the team’s future plans, but he’s not the solution to the current issue. There are still plenty of weeks left in the season for the rookie to become the Raiders number two option, but that is an uphill battle.
Keelan Doss
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Renfrow, is Keelan Doss. The UC Davis product was initially left off Oakland’s roster, however, a turn of events that do not need to be re-visited, ended his brief absence. Unfortunately his second stint with the team hasn’t resulted in a lot of playing time.
Doss has only been on the field for 57 snaps or 21.2 percent of the offensive plays, including week five when the Raiders were destitute at wide receiver. It’s not out of the ordinary for an undrafted rookie to see limited action, but obviously that impacts his candidacy as the number two wide receiver for this season.
Like Renfrow, Doss is an interesting project to keep an eye on, however, patience is required.