Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers: Offensive Grades in Week 2

Raiders at Steelers: Offensive Grades in 2021 Week 2

Wide Receiver

In my bold predictions piece, I thought Bryan Edwards would go for over 100 yards and a touchdown. While I was wrong on Edwards, a wide receiver did go for over 100 with a touchdown, but it was former first-round pick Henry Ruggs III.

Ruggs played a great game on Sunday, getting an end-around, catching the ball in the middle of the field, and getting some good YAC. The exclamation point was the 61-yard bomb that Derek Carr threw up perfectly for him to run right under and away from the defenders.

The Raiders need Ruggs to make more plays like this on a more consistent basis, but they also need to get the ball in his hands in space more so he can use that quickness.  Bryan Edwards didn’t have a bad game, even though he didn’t reach the 100-yard mark or get a touchdown, but he should’ve had a touchdown in the second quarter that was called back on a holding penalty by Kolton Miller.

Hunter Renfrow is a fan and analyst favorite, as he runs the tough routes, and gets hit hard regularly, gets right back up, and goes back to the huddle without saying a word to the defender.  Other than Waller, Renfrow is the second person Carr trusts the most, and he hardly ever lets him down in big situations.

Even Willie Snead had a big catch in this game on a third down to make up for his big miss in Week 1. The young receivers need to continue to make plays for this team to have the type of success the Raiders are trying to achieve, but so far so good these last two weeks.

Let’s see if it continues as the season progresses.

Grade: A