Las Vegas Raiders free agency primer: Wide Receivers

With Super Bowl LIV in the rear-view mirror, let us take a look at the Las Vegas Raiders pending free agents at the wide receiver position.

Heading into the 2019 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders had a good plan in place on how their depth chart would look at wide receiver. They had made the trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers to bring in star wideout Antonio Brown, and behind him, they would have guys like Tyrell Williams, Hunter Renfrow, and J.J. Nelson to name a few.

Well, we all know what happened with AB, from his feet,  to his helmet, to him blowing up his relationship with the organization, and leaving the Raiders with a hole atop their depth chart at wideout. Williams filled in admirably for Brown, but between his plantar fasciitis and his inconsistencies, he never could adequately fill the void left behind.

In 2020, the Raiders will be revamping the wide receiver group, though Williams and Renfrow are likely to return. Bringing in a real WR1 has to be the play for general manager Mike Mayock, as that would not only add a weapon on the outside for quarterback Derek Carr, but also move Williams back to WR2, where is an elite weapons.

With free agency looming, we have to look at those current Raiders wide receivers who are hitting free agency. There are only two of them, both at the complete opposite ends of their NFL careers.

Expiring Contracts

• Keelan Doss
• Dwayne Harris

Who Stays

Doss came out of nowhere this summer to become a fan favorite, and while he was waived after the preseason, he was brought back from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is a guy who has a lot of work to do before he is a true weapon at the NFL level, but he is only 23-years old, and we saw some flashes of him being a good depth guy at the position.

In my opinion, Dwayne Harris is a not a guy I see the Raiders bringing to Las Vegas, as he is an aging player who struggled with injuries all last season. Las Vegas has players who can step in and be the return guy moving forward, and while he may not be done in the NFL, I do not see it as likely that he is back in 2020.

This is a position group that is going to have a lot of changing parts in 2020, from the top guy on the depth chart, all the way down. The Raiders need a true WR1 heading into next season, and whether it is via free agency, or the 2020 NFL Draft, they are going to get him.