There were some questions being asked after Week 1 when Hunter Renfrow didn’t receive a single target in the Las Vegas Raiders’ win over the Denver Broncos. But head coach Josh McDaniels insisted that it was just a matter of what the defense allowed.
When receiver Jakobi Meyers was ruled out of the Raiders’ Week 2 contest against the Buffalo Bills, it felt like a lock that Renfrow would step up and see some balls thrown his way. But the slot receiver again was just a minor part of the offense, seeing just one target, which he caught for 23 yards.
And afterward, McDaniels again praised Renfrow and insisted he is doing everything right and should have seen the ball more while noting the Raiders have a lot of things to improve on offensively.
“I would say I’m disappointed just in our overall ability to be more productive than what we’ve been,” McDaniels said about the Raiders performance so far this season. “And again, Hunter’s done his job the right way, and a lot of times the passing game is a function of us doing the right thing. And also, the defense gets a vote. So, depending on the coverages they choose to play, it may open up some other things or it may give us an opportunity to throw a person like Hunter or the tight ends the ball inside.
“There’s been some missed opportunities on our part, but I don’t think that’s a function of Hunter,” the Raiders coach added. “We got to do a lot of things better. He should have gotten the ball more than he did yesterday. I think there were more opportunities than that, but protection has to be good, reading the coverage has to be good, blitz pickup; there’s a lot of things that will happen before any receiver or tight end will get the football. Much to improve upon, but I’m not concerned about Hunter.”
Just two seasons ago Renfrow made the Pro Bowl for his work in the slot, and now he is barely seeing the ball for a team that needs an offensive boost. Renfrow drew plenty of praise during training camp, and it will be on McDaniels and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to start finding him.
The Raiders have a huge game against the Steelers in Week 3, and if they plan on putting up some points on the dangerous Steelers defense, they will need to find a way to get Renfrow going.
