Who Will Be the Oakland Raiders Number One Receiver in 2013?

[blazin1]

The question is simple for the Oakland Raiders, but the answer is much more complicated. Who will be the Raiders number one receiver in 2013? I asked this question to the Raider Nation and the first four answers were all different. The first three responses were, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey. The next response might have described the Raiders receiver situation more accurately, which was that next year's number one receiver isn't on the roster yet. In some cases not having a clear number one receiver could be a good thing, but in Oakland's case it may not be. The Raiders are lacking consistency at the wide receiver position and it's time for one of the young receivers to step up and prove he can be a true number one before the Raiders find someone else who can.

Heading into the 2012 season I felt Darrius Heyward-Bey would make that jump as the number one guy with Denarius Moore being a close second. Heyward-Bey led the Raiders in receptions and receiving yards in 2011 and looked primed for a breakout season in 2012. DHB's numbers improved every year that he was in the league, but in 2012 his numbers declined along with his targets. Perhaps his concussion early in the season affected Heyward-Bey's production, but it was troubling to see his production drop to a mear 41 catches for 606 yards and five touchdowns. The former top ten pick is still trying to show he can make the type of impact that a top ten pick should make in the NFL.

Most of the local beat writers and fans felt Denarius Moore would be the number one guy in 2012. There was no doubt he was Carson Palmer's favorite target as he was thrown to a team leading 115 times this season, but Moore never seemed to become the player most fans thought he would be. He only caught 44% of the passes thrown his way, and in some games Moore wasn't much of a factor. He led the team with seven touchdown receptions and led all receivers in yards and had a three week stretch where he caught a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Moore and DHB only had one game in which they had over 100 receiving yards between the both of them. The only other receiver to have a 100 yard receiving game was undrafted rookie, Streater. Streater led the Raiders in receptions and receiving yards in the last five games of the season, but only scored one touchdown in that span.

So there lies the problem for the Oakland Raiders. They don't have a receiver who has stepped up and has given the coaches or fans confidence that he can be the top guy. That is one of the reasons some fans believe that the number one receiver for next year's team is not on the roster. Green Bay Packers receiver, Greg Jennings, who is scheduled to be a free agent next year is a name that kept being brought up. Jennings only played in eight games, but caught 36 balls and four touchdowns for 366 yards. Those numbers are similar to Streaters season numbers for all 16 games. There will be several veteran receivers on the market that the Raiders could look at besides Jennings. Dwayne Bowe, Mike Wallace and Wes Welker are schedule to be free agents this offseason.

I truly believe that the Raiders have the deepest receiver line up that they've had in a long time. There is no doubt that the young receivers have the ability to make plays. When Jacoby Ford returns next season he will add to the depth so that the Raiders have a wide receiver. The question is whether they have a true number one receiver on the roster. If you ask most people outside of the organization they will tell you no. Moore led the Raiders receivers in receptions, but he didn't even crack the top 75 in the NFL for receptions. As a matter of fact, full back Marcel Reece had more catches than him. Moore also led all the receivers in receiving yards, but 50 other players in the league had more yards than him. The only place where a Raiders receiver cracked the top 25 in an important category was touchdowns, where Moore was ranked 22nd with guys like Danario Alexander, T.Y. Hilton and Cecil Shorts.

Perhaps I am in the minority that still believe DHB can be the number one guy on the Raiders or that Moore can do a lot better than he did this year. Steater showed a lot of promise in 2012, and he could very well be the number one guy in 2013 if he continues to work hard. However, I don't blame the fans, and I would blame the coaches for wanting to look at other proven options around the NFL, because right now nobody on Oakland's roster has shown the consistency needed to be a true number one option.

LINK: http://raidernationtimes.com/article.php?id=9542

[DeadRinger]

We have excellent receivers on our roster. Do you REALLY want to know what the problem was with our WRs this season? The problem was our complete lack of a RUNNING game. How the hell is a WR supposed to get open when the defense doesn't have to worry about the RB?

Everything's connected.