Las Vegas Raiders: 2019 NFL Draft brought cornerstone players on Day 3
By Brad Weiss
Las Vegas Raiders: 2019 NFL Draft brought cornerstone players on Day 3
Hunter Renfrow in the fifth round
In the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Raiders brought in a clutch player from the University of Clemson in Hunter Renfrow, who has since become a foundational player. Renfrow, who had the game-winning catch in the national title game against Alabama in 2017, walked on at Clemson, winning two national titles, and racking up over 2,000 receiving yards along the way.
Still, there was not much buzz about him going into the draft, as he is not the prototypical NFL wide receiver in terms of stature by any means. What he is is an elite route-runner, one that put players on skates time and time again this past season, becoming the key weapon for this offense when Darren Waller went down with an injury on Thanksgiving Day.
Renfrow hauled in 103 catches this past season, becoming only the second Raiders wide receiver to do so, finishing one short of Hall of Famer Tim Brown. He appeared in all 17 games, came up with so many clutch catches, and had he not been on the roster, there is no way the Raiders would have made the playoffs.
Whoever takes over as general manager needs to make sure that Renfrow is in the Silver and Black for the foreseeable future.