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The Oakland Raiders will be going young at WR in 2010

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,Positional Previews by admin on Friday 23 July 2010 at 11:10 am

The Raiders corps of WRs have only 134 combined catches in the NFL, but they have speed to burn.  The Raiders hope that 24-year old Chaz Schilens can stay healthy in 2010.  Schilens has played in 8 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 29 passes for 365 yards (12.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Schilens has now played in 24 games (14 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has caught 44 passes for 591 yards (13.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs. 

23-year old Darrius Heyward-Bey was a huge disappointment for the Raiders as a rookie last year.  He played in 11 games (all starts) and he caught 9 passes for 124 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) last season.  Heyward-Bey might be one of the fastest receivers in the NFL but he should put some meat tenderizer on his concrete set of hands.

23-year old speedster Louis Murphy had some solid games as a rookie last season.  He also made a game winning catch at the end of the game in Pittsburgh that pretty much sealed up a huge win for the Raiders.  Murphy played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 34 passes for 521 yards (15.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) last season.  Murphy has the potential to easily move up the depth chart this year for the Raiders.

Rookie Jacoby Ford out of Clemson (4th round) in a absolute speed burner as he ran a 4.2 40 at the Scouting Combine.  But he is on the small side at 5’9″, 185 pounds so it will be interesting to see if he can take the pounding of the NFL.  Still, owner Al Davis loves speed and Ford has more than enough of that.

26-year old Johnnie Lee Higgins is also pretty quick.  He played in 15 games (5 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 19 passes for 263 yards (13.8 avg) without any TD grabs.  Higgins also carried the ball 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) last year.  Higgins has now played in 47 games (10 starts) in his three years with the Raiders and he has caught 47 passes for 676 yards (14.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Higgins has also carried the ball 7 times for 58 yards (8.3 ypc) in his career to date.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS WRs in 2010:  D

Look for the Oakland Raiders to use the TE even more in the passing game in 2010

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,Positional Previews by admin on Friday 16 July 2010 at 10:17 am

24-year old Zach Miller will probably see a lot more action in the passing game than he did last season now that the Raiders have a legit QB in Jason Campbell.  Miller played in 15 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 66 passes for 805 yards (12.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 47 games (46 starts) in his three years in the NFL and he has caught 166 passes for 2,027 yards (12.2 avg) with 7 TD grabs. 

30-year old Tony Stewart will likely be the #2 TE for the Raiders in 2010.  Stewart played in 15 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg).  He has now played in 115 games (31 starts) in his 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 76 passes for 623 yards (8.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Stewart is more of a blocker than a pass catcher.

24-year old Brandon Myers could see more action in 2010.  Myers played in 11 games (2 starts) as a rookie for the Raiders last season and he has caught 4 passes for 19 yards (4.8 avg). 

30-year old John Owens played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he caught 3 passes for 16 yards (5.3 avg).  Owens has now played in 76 games (19 starts) in his 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 22 passes for 178 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He is more of a run blocker than a receiver.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS  TEs in 2010:  B

The Oakland Raiders expect their fullbacks to block

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,Positional Previews by admin on Wednesday 7 July 2010 at 8:59 am

The Oakland Raiders don’t give the ball to the fullbacks much so their main job is blocking.  29-year old Luke Lawton tops the depth chart for the Raiders heading into training camp.  He played in 13 games (3 starts) for the Raiders last season and he didn’t get to carry the ball.  He did catch 7 passes for 31 yards (4.4 avg) last season.  Lawton has played in 44 games (10 starts) in his NFL career in which he has carried the ball 5 times for 13 yards (2.6 ypc) and he has caught 17 passes for 90 yards (5.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.

25-year old Marcel Reece is a converted TE.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) last season for the Raiders and he caught the ball 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 avg).  He also returned 3 kickoffs for 58 yards (19.3 avg) last season. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS FBs in 2010:  C