FA WR’s need not apply

As Chaz Schilens gets set for a few days of rest and a few weeks of rehab, two Oakland Raiders offensive players returned to practice on Tuesday, halfback Darren McFadden and wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. And as many fans and journalists set their sights on the free agent wide receiver that the Raiders will bring in to replace their injured player, I ponder the possibility of not bringing in any new faces. There are several reasons to bring in a veteran like a Tory Holt or a T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who is not free right now but could be on the outs in Seattle), but I like to go against the grain sometimes and this is one of those cases.

If I was the Raiders, I would find out what exactly I have here with this group and here’s why.

For one, bringing a guy in at this late period of the offseason is almost pointless. This is a new offense for most of these players and it took a great deal of repetitions and practice to get used to playing in it. Even if a new face was brought in right now, this very second, he would only have a little over two weeks to learn the offense. That just is not enough time for anybody. By the time the new player was actually close to up to par, it would be time for Chaz Schilens to return. That’s not to say he won’t suffer another injury before he gets back on the playing field, but I like this group the way it is, even without Schilens.

In my opinion, the wide receivers for the Raiders have a “sky’s the limit” potential. If these guys keep working hard in practice, working to get their timing down with the quarterback, and working towards becoming solid teammates that can rely on each other, there is not telling how far their talent can take them.

Right now, even without Schilens, the Raiders have multiple looks they can go with. They could go with DHB and Murphy on the outside while lining up Zach Miller and Darren McFadden up in a four wide set. The Baltimore Ravens loved to spread their tight ends out last year and I suspect Hue Jackson will likely do the same with the gifted Zach Miller. Plus, Darren McFadden has great release speed and really soft hands and he will have an advantage over most safeties, linebackers, and even some third cornerbacks coming out of the four wide receiver set. DHB has been the story of camp thus far and will need to translate that practice over to the game situation, but has definitely shown a complete 180-degree turn from where he was at this point last season. Murphy is just a dangerous and special player, perhaps the best fourth round draft choice in his draft class.

Another look they could go to is having Murphy and DHB move into the slot positions and putting the two deep threats, Nick Miller and Jacoby Ford on the sidelines. Murphy and DHB are both big receivers who could work over the traffic in the middle of the field while allowing the speedsters on the outside to get mismatches in one-on-ones with the opponent’s situational cornerbacks or even in one-on-ones with slower safeties. This look also creates mismatches in favor of the offense and by motioning Murphy or DHB; Jason Campbell could get a good grasp on what kind of coverage he will be dealing with on the play.

Of course in either of these first two sets, having Michael Bush the backfield will keep the front seven defenders on their toes.

And here’s an idea for a third down set. Now, for those of you who have not noticed, I am pretty high on a guy who I think is underrated, Todd Watkins. In my opinion, Watkins is very dangerous on third downs and he made his mark last year converting them for both Bruce Gradkowski and JaMarcus Russell, remember his huge catch in week two last year against Kansas City? So on third down, I want my most reliable third down guys on the field. So I’m going to bring in this set:

DHB       Watkins        Henderson Gallery Satele Carlisle Walker Z. Miller               Murphy

Campbell

McFadden

Here you have potential for a screen pass, you have a threat from Zach Miller and Louis Murphy on the same side (remember the Eagles game?) and you have Watkins getting double teamed because the defense knows DHB cannot catch. I’m joking, I’m joking, but seriously, my point is this: The Raiders are not really all that bad off this year without arguably their most well rounded wide receiver and that is a statement that you simply couldn’t make last year.

When Schilens was lost last year in training camp, there was a legit reason to push the panic button, but this year…not so much. For starters, last year DHB (who was nothing short of horrid), Nick Miller, and Murphy (who actually did pretty well considering the refs kept screwing him) were all rookies and unknowns. By the time the season opens this year, I expect to have a really good idea of exactly what type of players all three of these guys are. Secondly, you have Zach Miller and you can use Darren McFadden in more of a receiver role this year also.

So the Raiders need to be productive with or without Schilens for now, but there is no reason to replace him in the line-up at this point and even if you wanted to, there simply aren’t that many options right now.

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