It was a bit of a mystery how the Las Vegas Raiders would approach retooling their wide receiver room this offseason. With a ton of salary cap space and draft capital, they were certainly in a position to be players for big-time guys, whether it be in free agency or via trade.
But as the wide receiver market progressed once the legal tampering period began on Monday, it became less and less clear what the Raiders' plan was. And then they signed former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor to a multi-year deal.
Nailor is a solid wide receiver, but as always with free agents, the contract details are everything. Raiders fans may then have some pause about signing Nailor to a three-year, $35 million deal with $23 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Jalen Nailor's contract details prove Raiders overpaid for veteran WR
At first glance, this seems like an overpay. An average annual salary of $11.7 million for a player who has never even eclipsed 450 receiving yards in a single season feels like a gamble, especially with other veteran wideouts available and April's draft class being a deep one at the position.
It's not like south of $12 million is anywhere approaching No. 1 wide receiver money, but it is a hefty investment in a player that hasn't proven all that much in the NFL. Perhaps they got carried away in a bidding war, as The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that the Broncos and Patriots both wanted him.
To be entirely fair to Nailor, he has been stuck in the shadow of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota, which accounts for some holes in his production. But he hasn't been incredibly efficient with his targets, catching just 60.5% of them in four years. He's never had over 30 catches in a year.
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Brock Bowers will be the Raiders' top option in the passing game, and with young pieces like Tre Tucker, Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. already in the building, maybe Nailor is just an ancillary signing and not expected to be some elite pass-catcher. Las Vegas has a lot of money to spend.
But this almost guarantees that Rashid Shaheed won't be coming to Las Vegas, and that the Raiders won't utilize an early draft pick on the position. Anything could happen, but that is certainly the way that the deck is being stacked, as it stands.
Nailor could be a breakout candidate with more runway in an expanded role. He did average 15.4 yards per reception in his tenure with the Vikings, and his quarterback play was shaky, at best, for a good portion of his time there.
That said, Nailor has a lot to prove before he earns his $23 million in guaranteed money and his nearly $12 million annual price tag. I trust John Spytek and Klint Kubiak to add the right pieces, but my gut reaction told me that this was an odd signing. Hopefully, I am wrong. I will gladly be.