Everybody talks about Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray when it comes to Oakland Raiders offensive weapons, but is there another who deserves more attention?
Derek Carr is coming into his own as a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Silver and Black, but like anybody else at his position he’s only as good as the weapons around him. Cooper and Murray are obvious names but one that didn’t seem to garner much of anything despite a steady increase in productivity last year was tight end Clive Walford. The 3rd round pick from last years’ draft was considered one of the best vertical threats at his position in the class, something Al Davis would’ve loved and sure enough he showed flashes of that ability.
Marc Sessler of NFL.com believes the second-year man is going to take a big step forward in 2016 and help this team go after the division title.
"“Walford finished his rookie campaign ahead of Mychal Rivera on the depth chart, seeing 39 of his 51 targets after Week 9. Amid reports that Oakland plans to “expand” his role come September, Walford looms as a logical candidate for a classic Year 2 breakout at the position. With defenders forced to prioritize wideout Amari Cooper, Walford should pick up where he left off for a Raiders team set to make a run at the AFC West.”"
Then again being underrated is nothing new to Walford. He played at Miami during one of its darker periods in school history and still found a way to be productive. His senior year he had 676 yards and seven touchdowns on just 44 catches, averaging a gaudy 15.4 yards per catch. It really was a surprise that he fell that far in the draft. Not that the Oakland Raiders are complaining. Given how thin this past draft was at the position, they have good reason to laugh at other teams that didn’t see what they saw and now are paying for it.
Health permitting, he should add to those frustrations with even better play in Year 2.