What should the Oakland Raiders expect from Zay Jones?

The Raiders depleted wide receiver group has been a revolving door through the early part of this season, so what should Oakland expect from newly acquired wide receiver Zay Jones?

The Oakland Raiders have gotten off to a much better start than many people anticipated — posting a 3-3 record through their first six games. When the Raiders broke training camp in Napa, it was believed that the team’s core of wide receivers was arguably the deepest position on the roster.

Well, the makeup of wide receivers has been tested early on, as three pass catchers have already been released up to this point. To counteract the departures, Oakland traded a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for wide receiver Zay Jones.

Jones immediately slots in as the WR2, behind Tyrell Williams.

The former Buffalo Bills pass catcher was a second-round pick, who was heavily coveted coming out of East Carolina but hasn’t quite lived up to the large expectations. Before entering the draft, Jones set the record as the FBS all-time reception leader.

Last season he set career high’s with 652 yards and seven touchdowns, so it was surprising when the Bills were willing to send him out of town so quickly.

Reasonable expectations for Zay Jones?

It’s evident that Jones may not turn into that game-changing wideout like he was in college, however, he very well could be a number two target or a nice complementary piece for Derek Carr.

Having Williams on the outside, and emerging tight end Darren Waller as the two premier pass catchers in the offense, Jones’ role will fall in behind those two.

If Jones can finish out this season in Oakland averaging around 40 yards per game to go along with a handful of touchdowns on the year it would be considered a successful trade for the Raiders.

The Athletic’s Vic Tafur expects Raiders fans to get their first glance of Jones this Sunday against Houston.