Although Oakland Raiders fans have certainly heard enough of Antonio Brown, his absence has greatly altered the team’s passing game. Without a clear No. 1 target, the Raiders offense has floundered in their first three games.
Of course, tight end Darren Waller has seemingly come out of nowhere to be an aerial threat. Although he and quarterback Derek Carr have been connecting, the Raiders have struggled throwing the ball down the field as Oakland ranks 24th overall in completed passes of more than 20 yards.
After signing as a free agent in the offseason, Tyrell Williams was the likely candidate to become a deep threat for the Raiders. That hasn’t exactly come to fruition yet, but Williams thinks that the Raiders are still going to have chances to go deep and connect on those passes as they continue to work together to gain chemistry, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports:
“I feel like we took shots last week in Minnesota, and we can take even more shots, too,” Williams said. “We’re still getting to know each other. We’re still seeing how fast J.J. really is and how fast I really am, and trusting that. It’s also about coverage.
“For us, I think it’s about getting that time together as an offense.”
The Raiders group of receivers has certainly had their ups and downs with very limited time playing together. J.J. Nelson is returning from an ankle injury and backup receiver Dwayne Harris is still dealing with injuries.
Oakland recently traded for Green Bay Packers receiver and special teams player Trevor Davis though, so that could bring some speed to the offense in the coming weeks.
Additionally, the Raiders also brought back hometown favorite Keelan Doss. Although head coach Jon Gruden said Doss will have to earn his playing time, his addition to the team creates yet another pass option.
The Raiders had planned on trying to go deep more often this season when Brown was still apart of the game plan. Although those plans have not come to fruition, it will be interesting to see if the Raiders can find success in the deep passing game moving forward.
