Raiders trade away Bryan Edwards, but what does it all mean?
Moving forward without Edwards
Since he was drafted, it was clear Edwards had a ton of potential. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Edwards is the epitome of “potential is just a word”.
In each of his training camps, Edwards was the talk of the facility. Raiders’ reporter Levi Edwards stated just last year that the entire camp couldn’t stop singing praises of the 2020 third-round pick, claiming he was becoming an ace at separating while making athletic catches over defenders. As the season began, however, this would not be the same receiver [Levi] Edwards reported on.
Although the South Carolina wideout would have the best stretch of his career to start the ’21 season with, this was largely due to the presence of Henry Ruggs. This pair gave opposing defenses headaches, as whichever one they focused on, the other would take advantage of the lax coverage. Take away Ruggs, though, and Edwards was far from the same player.
At 6’3, Edwards still had the height to tower over defenders and make contested catches; This is something he continued to do even without the presence of Ruggs. Separation, on the other hand, was a struggle. This caused the former Raiders’ receiver to plummet in both yards and receptions at the loss of Ruggs.
With signings such as Robinson, Hollins, and Cole, the truth is, Edwards was becoming just another name on the depth chart – But, but there are still things Edwards brings to the table that Las Vegas will miss.
The main thing the Raiders lose is a big body presence on the outside who can ward off defenders on routes such as fades. Truthfully, this is a much bigger deal than it sounds; Or would be, had Las Vegas not traded for one of the best in the business in this regard, being Davante Adams.
This is surely Edwards’s bread and butter, but Adams simply does it better, so the need to keep Edwards around shrank greatly when the former Packer was acquired in a trade. One could still argue it never hurts to have two viable options on the face, which is certainly true, but Waller is big enough and versatile enough to make that happen should McDaniels wish to execute something like that.
In the end, Edwards has the potential to prove he was an excellent third-round selection, but the Raiders don’t want to sit around and wait for that to happen. All the same, Once a Raider, Always a Raider, and we wish Edwards the best of luck in his next chapter.