Oakland Raiders kiddie pool of wide receiver depth

With the injury to Chaz Schilens expected to last into the regular season, the Oakland Raiders depth at wide receiver closely resembles a plastic kiddie pool.

The Raiders expected to ride the receiving trio of Schilens, Louis Murphy, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Those three have the potential to be explosive, but each one of them have as many questions surrounding them as they do answers. Beyond those three, the options are dangerously thin.

When he has been on the field, Schilens has shown flashes of being a go-to play-making wide receiver. However, he has spent far too much time off the field in his three year career. He missed eight games in 2009 with a foot injury he sustained in a non-contact drill against the 49ers in training camp. Further complications to that foot injury cost him most of his off-season workouts and limited him in camp. It is a further injury to his knee that has him out potentially into the regular season. The original school of thought on his foot injury last year was that he would be ready to go by the opening of the season. He has the talent and work ethic of a go-to receiver, but his increasing inability to see the field makes it harder to plan an offense around him.

Darrius Heyward-Bey’s struggles have been the stuff of legend. His 9 catches in 11 games as a rookie give rise to a great number of questions in and of themselves. He has worked extensively over the offseason on improving his game to early rave reviews, but he was held out of a week of practices during training camp for what was termed “fatigue.” This raises conditioning questions around the second year player.

Louis Murphy exploded on the scene last year after being a fourth round selection out of Florida. He has been a fiery player, and has developed a reputation for making clutch catches. His only drawback has been consistency. He seems to disappear for stretches or go into a funk where he will drop a few in a row. However, Murphy is all-around the most valuable wide receiver in Silver and Black. When healthy, Schillens is a bit more reliable of a pass catcher, but Murphy is much more reliable about being on the field.

With the work they are putting in, these three look to be improved and, if they can stay healthy, a dynamic receiving trio.

Here’s the rub. It appears that Schilens will miss at least the first game. With his history of lingering injuries, that means that he could easily be on the sidelines through the quarter turn. This means that someone from the “Who’s Who of Who’s That?”, which comprises the remainder of the players listed on the roster as a wide receiver, is going to be thrust into the third receiver role– a position that carries near starter value.

Four year veteran Johnnie Lee Higgins would seem to be the initial logical choice, being hat he has started games for the Raiders in each of his three seasons. However, his career arc has been a definition of the word mediocre. 19 catches in 15 games and four starts are hardly the numbers of a guy who can get it done. His solid camp mixed with the lack of any of the other speed receivers/returners breaking out has likely saved his roster spot.

The team would like to see rookie fourth round pick Jacoby Ford reach out and grab the job. However, he was sidelined with a minor injury and camp and hasn’t seemed to catch his stride. Yamon Figurs has been singed out by Cable for his play. However, in neither the practices I saw nor the games has he stood out.

Nick Miller has not had the stellar camp he had in 09 which ultimately propelled him onto the roster. He is an unlikely candidate for the role, as is Todd Watkins who occasionally filled that role during the season in 09 where he pulled in only eight balls in 13 games with one of them as a starter.

This leaves an unsteady situation at a key position. There have been thoughts from fans about the team making a move for either of the recently released vetran wideouts in Laveraneus Coles from the Jets or Antonio Bryant from the Bengals. No and no. Coles has been in decline for the past several seasons and is expected to announce his retirement. The Jets aren’t exactly brimming with talent at wideout and he is an icon with that franchise and they let him walk. Bryant was released after he was already given a $7 million bonus for the year. Teams do not release healthy players after giving them a fat check.

Thursday’s game will be crucial for the rogues gallery at the bottom of the receiver depth chart to show that they should get that opportunity. The Raiders will also be closely monitoring the waiver wire to see who is going to become available. Cable is serious about the Raiders pushing for the west title this year, and making the proper moves now with the wide receiver position are important for getting the offense off on the right foot.