5 players the Las Vegas Raiders cannot live without in 2022
By Alex Perl
5 players the Las Vegas Raiders cannot live without in 2022
Davante Adams
It is not very often when one of the best players in all of football becomes available, but this was the case with wide receiver Devante Lavell Adams.
We thought about adding Hunter Renfrow here. The former fifth-round pick turned into one of the best slot receivers in all of football last season. By snagging over 100 receptions, 1,038 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns, he was head and shoulders above the rest of the inconsistent play from the Raiders’ receiving core.
The issue with Renfrow was, and not taking anything away from the talented receiver, but there was virtually no one else to target on this Raider offense.
The best receiver going into last season was tight end Darren Waller, who missed a huge chunk of the season due to injury. Former first-round selection Henry Ruggs was done early in the year for the Raiders (not even going to touch on that in this article), and the rest of the Raiders receivers were inconsistent and just not up to par for the most part.
So the Raiders made sure not to repeat this same issue and added one of the best wide receivers in the league in the 5x Pro Bowl selection in Adams.
The talent is one thing on this elite route runner with superior catching ability, but the biggest thing is the familiarity with quarterback Derek Carr. The two played together in college at Fresno St. and were an unstoppable one-two combo. The pair have always expressed a desire to reconnect again, and in 2022; that dream will now be realized.
Adams may have had the luxury of playing with one of the best statistical quarterbacks in history in Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay for all these years, but when watching the tape of Adams, you see his crisp route running and ability to always find an opening in the secondary makes him elite to a level in which Carr or even Rodgers have never had at the receiver position.
His importance is felt in the bank too as he signed a contract with the Raiders that makes him one of the most expensive players in the entirety of the league. However, you get what you pay for. And Adams will be depended on to take this Raider team to the next level.
Adams is the best wide receiver in terms of pure talent this team has sported since Raider legend Tim Brown, and he may even be better than Brown. It is exciting not only for Carr, but RaiderNation to know there is now a dependable and elite talent at the receiver position. Carr has never had this level of talent to throw to, well at least not since he had Adams in college.