Raiders: Is Hunter Renfrow the next Raider to have a payday?

Raiders Renfrow has been outstanding in the Silver and Black

In the 2019 NFL draft, the Raiders selected wide receiver, Hunter Renfrow, with the 149th pick.

Renfrow became the immediate starting slot receiver, and carried the moniker “3rd and Renfrow” with him from Clemson into the NFL, logging 30 first-downs on 49 receptions.

As much as Renfrow immediately made an impact his rookie year, there was a bit of a drop problem that flew under the radar, dropping 5.6% of his passes. This number has consistently improved each year, ending the ’21 season with an incredible 1.6 drop percentage on 128 targets.

The sophomore year for the former national championship winner at Clemson was even better than the first, as Renfrow recorded more receiving yards, catches, and first-downs – The latter of which I only note due to his nickname. In addition, Renfrow was able to correct some missed opportunities from the year prior, cutting his drops in half despite having more targets.

This past year was the third-year receiver’s best season, and as good as he already was, Renfrow took a leap into stardom.

Hunter joined both the 100+ receptions and 1,000+ receiving yard clubs, breaking the plane nine times in the process. More impressively, Renfrow was able to post some incredible analytical numbers, such as that 1.6% drop rate mentioned earlier (ranking 3rd-lowest among players with 100+ targets) and a passer rating of 120.6 when targeted (ranking 10th among receivers).

It wasn’t only the total outcome that was impressive, but also the manner with the consistency he did it.

In the 2021 season, Renfrow had only 2 games below 40 yards (0 under 30), 2 games below 4 catches (0 under 3), and 3 games under a 90 passer rating when targeted (1 under 82), and moved the chains at least once every contest.

Renfrow’s consistency was something the Raiders needed last year more than ever, and he delivered.

Through the first 7 games of the 2021 season, played with Henry Ruggs, the Raiders surpassed 300 passing yards 5 times. In the remaining 10, they reached that mark one single time. This was no fault of Renfrow, who had three 100+ receiving yard games last season, all coming in the absence of Ruggs.

There were also seven instances where Renfrow had at least 9 receptions, with six of those seven coming post-Ruggs. To save you from doing some math: This means, in the 10 games without Henry Ruggs, Renfrow posted 9+ receptions more times than he didn’t. In addition, 7 of his 9 touchdowns in ’21 came in this same window.

You would’ve probably been correct in saying Renfrow is on a path of overachieving, had you said that after the 2020 season. After ’21, though? Forget about it; The 26-year-old has blown all expectations out of the water, developing into one of the most dynamic slot receivers in the NFL.

"“Hunter Renfrow in a 10-yard box might have the best route running in the entire league”."

The league-wide media has started to take note of Renfrow, proven by that quote from GMFB’s Peter Schrager. Is Renfrow worth the pay day, though?