Dein erstes Forum » Johnson may not even play as he hasn’t been practicing

Jared Cook was a huge part of the Raider offense last year. With basically zero help in the way of wide receivers Bo Jackson Jersey White , Derek Carr looked to Cook to carry the passing game. Cook did so well, he was..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Raiders NewsRaiders OC Greg Olson says there is ‘no doubt’ TE Darren Waller can fill Jared Cook’s shoesNew,75commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareRaiders OC Greg Olson says there is ‘no doubt’ TE Darren Waller can fill Jared Cook’s shoesKirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsJared Cook was a huge part of the Raider offense last year. With basically zero help in the way of wide receivers, Derek Carr looked to Cook to carry the passing game. Cook did so well, he was signed away by the New Orleans Saints in the offseason. The Raiders signed Luke Willson and drafted Foster Moreau, but neither one are proven pass-catching tight ends.All this means Darren Waller will get a tremendous chance to become the Raiders’ top tight end target, and offensive coordinator Greg Olson likes his chances at success. He was asked at OTAs on Tuesday if he felt Waller could step up and fill the spot vacated by Cook.“Oh yeah, there’s no doubt. I think really as good a player as Jared Cook is and was for us, I just think this will really allow him… Would it stunt his growth if Jared was here? Possibly. So now that he has that position, it’s your position, you are the ‘Y’ in certain personnel groupings. We’re going to put you out there on the field and you’re going to play. You’re going to get better from playing. You’re not going to wait and sit behind Jared Cook and have to wait your turn, you have to go now. We’re really pushing him to the limit right now,” said Olson.This bit of word salad notwithstanding, Jon Gruden had similar things to say about Waller last week, calling him the ‘best kept secret’ in the league.It’s easy to see why people are getting excited about Waller’s potential. Here are a few Tweets from this morning about Waller’s performance in practice working with Derek Carr.If we unpack all this and look at the timestamps, we’ll find that all three Tweets were talking about the same play- one apparently so spectacular that three separate well-known writers had to share their perspective on it. What do these Tweets tell us about Waller?Firstly, rookie corner Isaiah Johnson runs a 4.4 and Waller toasted him. Secondly, Derek Carr was able to “identify a favorable matchup” involving Waller. Now, with Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow and God knows who else on the field, how often do you imagine Darren Waller is going to have a favorable matchup? My most conservative guess would be 100% of the time. Thirdly, Waller ran a very good wheel route, which is a great sign because it is my second-favorite play (behind only the naked bootleg, preferably coming as a total surprise when runat the goal line by a stone-footed quarterback) and it almost always works. The wheel route is usually not covered by a corner as talented or as fast as Johnson, rather it ends up with a tight end or a running back running past an outside linebacker in coverage who suddenly looks like he’s running in a pool of cold nacho cheese from 7-11.Finally, the route went ‘deep’. While Carr doesn’t throw deep as often as he should, when he does so he is extremely accurate. His current crop of receivers are incredibly skilled at catching the deep ball, and if Waller proves able to handle that as well, it could make the Raider offense even more indefensible than it already is.If you’re looking for a potential breakout player and fantasy sleeper, look no further than Darren Waller. Gruden has already hinted that he thinks the turf in Winnipeg is suspect and therefore he is hesitant to want to risk injuries to his starters by playing them. For that reason, I wouldn’t be..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesSilver And Black Pride homepageHorizontal - WhiteSilver And Black Pridean Oakland Raiders communityFollow Silver And Black Pride online:Follow Silver And Black Pride on TwitterFollow Silver And Black Pride on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchSilver And Black Pride main menuFanpostsFanshotsRaidersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Five Raiders positions with most heated battles to win a spot in WinnipegNew,145commentsPDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Five Raiders positions with most heated battles to win a spot in WinnipegTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Robert Reiners/Getty ImagesGruden has already hinted that he thinks the turf in Winnipeg is suspect and therefore he is hesitant to want to risk injuries to his starters by playing them. For that reason, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a repeat of the first preseason game in which no established veterans and/or starters played in the game. And that means plenty of playing fighting for their NFL lives.Good guard https://www.raiderslockerroom.com/authentic-derek-carr-jersey , y’allThere will be a great opportunity early in the season for a guard to make this team that otherwise may not have. That’s because the Raiders will be without both of their starters for at least the first two weeks. Gabe Jackson figures to miss the first month of the season with an MCL injury and Richie Incognito is suspended the first two games.Leading the way to fill those spots are Jordan Devey at right guard and Denzelle Good — who just came off PUP — at left guard. Leading the way in the battling to either supplant them or back them up are Jonathan Cooper and Denver Kirkland. Cooper was in line to start in place of Incognito should Good not be ready. And Kirkland stepped in for Jackson initially when he went down and played well at right guard with the second team last week. Keep a close eye on those two in this game.SwingersThe other battle on the offensive line to watch is at swing tackle between 2018 third round pick Brandon Parker and 2017 4th round pick David Sharpe. Thus far the 6-8 Parker hasn’t looked great at right tackle and downright horrendous at left tackle. While Sharpe has held his own on either side. The former Florida tackle with one bad eye didn’t make the team out of camp last year, was signed by the Texans, cut, then re-signed with the Raiders. He may be coming into his own entering his third season, while Parker is showing no such indication entering his second.Wide openThe lower run of wide receivers on this team have already had plenty of opportunities this preseason to show their stuff. Antonio Brown hasn’t played a snap and Tyrell Williams played just the first series last week before leaving the field. The thing is, they may need the entire preseason to sort this one out.After the two starters, I would put the order of the receivers like this: Dwayne Harris (for his special teams abilities), JJ Nelson, Ryan Grant, Hunter Renfrow, Keelan Doss, Marcell Ateman, Rico Gafford, Keon Hatcher, and De’Mornay Pierson-El.One could make a case for most of these guys to crack the roster in the right situation. Hatcher was the preseason star last year who had Gruden saying he would be thrown out the plane if Hatcher didn’t make the team. Then Gruden cut him after the opener to re-sign Martavis Bryant, and signed Hatcher to the practice squad. Gafford spent last year on the practice squad as well, switching from cornerback to wide receiver and he caught a 59-yard touchdown bomb last week in Arizona. He is lightning fast and you saw it on that play. Ateman is a big receiver with sure hands. He was the team’s 7th round pick last year and ended up starting games late last season due to injuries. Doss has put on a show thus far in the preseason and most are not surprised by this. He’s a very talented receiver who should have been drafted.Those are the guys on the outside looking in. Unless the team kept seven wide receivers, most of them will be cut. Good problem to have.Clogger logjamMaurice Hurst’s spot looks secure as the Raiders’ top rookie last season. As does Johnathan Hankins who played well last season and Gruden said was the Raiders most improved player. After that all bets are off. Justin Ellis is a former starter for the team. He hasn’t played in the first two preseason games and who knows if he will play Thursday night.Making a play to be part of the interior rotation are several hopefuls. PJ Hall was the team’s second round pick last year. He didn’t make an impact as a rookie and is now fighting for his roster spot. Anthony Rush had a monster first preseason game, but cooled off a bit in the second game. The coaches like him, but the undrafted rookie is a raw talent. Veteran Ethan Westbrooks has made a strong push as well. Returning after missing the first two preseason games with injury is Gabe Wright. He will have a chance to fight back into the competition as well.And in this corner...There are three starting cornerbacks on this team — Gareon Conley, Daryl Worley, and Lamarcus Joyner. Doubtful we see any of them in this game. The top fighters stepping under the ropes to duke it out for the remaining two or three spots are second round rookie Trayvon Mullen, veteran Nevin Lawson, fourth round rookie Isaiah Johnson, and 2018 fourth round pick Nick Nelson. Only Mullen is a lock. The others will have their work cut out for them. with a concussion he suffered in the second preseason game. There will be an opening there might not have otherwise been because Lawson is suspended the first four games of the season, which means even if he were to beat out the others, his roster spot will be open until he returns, opening the door for someone else. How nice of him.That means there is at least one spot and maybe two up for grabs. In this game it will be up to Nick Nelson to outperform undrafted rookies Dylan Mabin and Keisean Nixon along with hopefuls Makinton Dorleant and Joshua Holsey. Of this group, Nixon has made the strongest case to grab a roster spot. He played well in both of the team’s preseason games thus far, so Nelson has to step it up.Follow @LeviDamien