After dropping their first game of the season against their division rivals the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oakland Raiders are looking to bounce back in Week 3.
However, it will be no easy task as they are set to take on a Minnesota Vikings team that boasts one of the league’s most tenacious defenses. Derek Carr looked solid in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, but then looked shaky in what looked to be a favorable matchup with the Chiefs’ maligned secondary.
While Tyrell Williams and Darren Waller have proven to be reliable targets in the passing game, the Raiders still lack another option the outside. One of their offseason additions, J.J. Nelson, has yet to make an impact for the Raiders as he has been struggling with an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason.
However, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, head coach Jon Gruden is excited for Nelson to finally return to give the Raiders some much-needed speed:
Gruden excited to have J.J. Nelson back from ankle injury: “He’s a guy that had a great training camp for us. He was getting a lot of reps, for a lot of reasons, and he took advantage of them, but yeah, we need the speed. No doubt.” #Raiders
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) September 20, 2019
Nelson briefly appeared in the game against Denver but it was clear that he had not fully healed from the ankle sprain. However, him getting in a limited and a full session of practice bodes well for his status for Week 3.
The speedy receiver was brought in mainly to stretch the field vertically and give Carr another deep threat, and it will be interesting to see what the offense looks like with Nelson in the fold. He should be able to keep defensive backs honest whenever he is lined up on the outside, so hopefully, he is the remedy to a Raiders offense that has stagnated far too often in the middle of games.
While getting Nelson back and adding Trevor Davis is sure to help the Silver and Black, they have their work cut out for them when they play a Vikings team that is looking to bounce back from their own loss.
