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NFL free agency is underway and the Las Vegas Raiders have been linked to a number of big names. While the team is expected to make a splash or two, they’ll also be targeting some smaller names. One player to keep an eye on is New England Patriots wide receiver Phillip Dorsett. According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, the Raiders are among the teams that have shown interest in him.
Dorsett came into the NFL as a first-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts but has never lived up to his draft status. His career-high in receiving yards came in 2016 when he accumulated 528. Dorsett’s most recent stint with the Patriots wasn’t very prolific as he only put 397 receiving yards in 2019. Considering he’s been able to work with two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history in Andrew Luck and Tom Brady, it’s safe to say that he’ll never turn into a 1,000 yards a year wide receiver.
However, the Raiders have shown that they like to take chances on players who never lived up to their draft status. They traded for wide receiver Zay Jones last season, who was a second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills previously. Perhaps the Raiders want to take a similar chance on Dorsett. If anything, he’ll be incredibly cheap and has plenty of NFL experience. Plus, he’s a Super Bowl champion and it’s always good to have those types of players on the roster.
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Raiders Appear to Like Robby Anderson
The Raiders don’t seem likely to spend too much money on offense considering their many holes on defense. The team’s biggest need on the offensive side of the ball is at wide receiver and the market is very lean this year. The only notable name that the Raiders could show interest in is New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson. His numbers over the years aren’t particularly impressive, but he’s one of the better options in a weak free agent pool.
He’s going to get overpaid and the Raiders could be the team give him the money he wants. They reportedly were interested in trading for him during the season, but now they wouldn’t have to give anything up to get him. Anderson said he wants to stay with the Jets, so it remains to be seen what will happens with him.
Raiders Could Also Look at a Rival WR
If the Raiders strike out on Robby Anderson and don’t love Phillip Dorsett, they also could make a run at Demarcus Robinson. The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is about as prolific as Dorsett in terms of statistics, but he put on a show against the Raiders early in the 2019 season. Jon Gruden could remember that and be interested in seeing if he can become more consistent.
He’d be another cheap option and the Raiders would be stealing him away from a rival. It would be a solid move for the team’s depth at wide receiver.
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