Countdown to 2020: Best Raiders player to wear No. 82 all-time

With 82 days until the opening game of 2020, we start the count down with the best Raiders player at every jersey number. Today we focus on No. 82.

With the season a few months away, we take a look at the best player to wear the jersey number of the number of days left before the opener on September 13, 2020 against the Carolina Panthers. That game will kick off the new era of Raiders football.

We continue our series with No. 82.

Horace Jones was a 12th round pick of the Oakland Raiders way back in 1971, and would go on to make 57 starts for the team across five seasons. He was a member of an incredible 1971 draft class, one that saw the Raiders bring in Phil Villapiano, Jack Tatum, and Clarence Davis to name a few.

However, our top Raider to wear the No. 82 played his entire career with the team, and was a dynamic receiver for the Silver and Black.

James Jett (1993-2002)

During his time at West Virginia, James Jett was a seven-time All-American, and before you go and do the math, that was in track. In fact, Jett would go on to win a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as a member of the USA’s 4x100m relay team, a team that included none other than Carl Lewis.

However, Jett also played football for the Mountaineers, and the Raiders signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1993. Playing his whole career in the Silver and Black, Jett became synonymous with the big play, and in fact, he led the NFL in yards per reception as a rookie, racking up over 24 yards per catch.

A steady performer with the Raiders, Jett had back-to-back seasons with over 800 yards receiving in 1997 and 1998, serving as a tremendous compliment to Tim Brown. In 1997, Jett was a touchdown machine, bringing in 12 scores for a team that won only four games with Jeff George at the helm of the offense.

For the first eight of his ten seasons with the Raiders, Jett appeared in every game, and from 1996 through 1998, he started 48 of 48. He was the consummate professional for the Raiders, playing good football on some pretty bad teams, while scoring at least one touchdown in all three years he made playoff appearances.