The Raiders needed a facelift at WR and they have done that bringing in Javon Walker and Drew Carter as free agents.  Javon Walker almost retired after his assault in Las Vegas but Al Davis and company talked him into playing this season.  If healthy and focused, Walker will be the #1 WR on the Raiders.  Walker played in 8 games for the Broncos last season and he caught 26 passes for 287 yards (11.0 avg) without a TD grab.  He also carried the ball 2 times for -3 yards (-1.5 ypc) last season.  The thought here is that Walker will be a good fit for the Raiders as JaMarcus Russell has the arm to hit Walker if he gets behind the defense and he should be able to if healthy.  Walker has now played in 72 games in his NFL career and he has caught 252 passes for 3,815 yards (15.1 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  Walker has also carried the ball 14 times for 132 yards (9.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.

29-year old Ronald Curry had a breakout season for the Raiders last year and he is a very solid #2 WR.  He played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 55 passes for 717 yards (13.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Curry to top those numbers in 2008 for the Raiders as he has the speed to get deep.  Curry has now played in 62 games in his NFL career and he has caught 174 passes for 2,166 yards (12.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 4 times for 2 yards (0.5 ypc) in his NFL career.

26-year old Drew Carter is a speedster who was a tad underrated for the Panthers.  He will be the #3 WR for the Raiders this season and he should get a lot of action.  Carter played in 16 games for the Panthers last season and he caught 38 passes for 517 yards (13.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Carter to at least match his numbers from 2007 with the Panthers in 2008 with the Raiders.  Carter has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has caught 71 passes for 977 yards (13.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 18 yards (9.0 ypc) in his career.

Johnnie Lee Higgins has great deep speed but he will need to start to show it on Gameday if he’s going to be anything more than a special teams player in the NFL.  Higgins played in all 16 games as a rookie with the Raiders last season and he caught 6 passes for 47 yards (7.8 avg).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 3 yards (1.5 ypc) last season.

Rookie Arman Shields could move up the depth chart with a good training camp.  He caught 160 passes for 1,930 yards (12.1 avg) with 13 TD grabs in his career at Richmond. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C