Getty Darren Waller, Derek Carr & Hunter Renfrow of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Despite being a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft, Hunter Renfrow quickly became an important part of the Las Vegas Raiders offense. That was evident by the fact that the passing offense stalled when he missed time due to injury. He may be young but he’s formed a great relationship with quarterback Derek Carr.
Renfrow had some strong words about Carr.
“I’m not scared to ask him a question anymore,” Renfrow said recently. “I’ll joke with him and give him a hard time. Last year he was like the teacher. I wasn’t going to mess with the principal. But it’s been cool just to have a friend like that. It’s been a lot of fun. It really has.
“There’s nobody else in the world I’d rather have. He has what it takes. It’s going to be awesome to go prove that this year.”
Notably, Renfrow was one of the few offensive players for the Raiders who didn’t suggest they’d like to play with Tom Brady when those rumors were going around. It’s clear that the wide receiver has a lot of faith in Carr.
Renfrow Praises Wide Receivers
Last season, Renfrow and Tyrell Williams were the only two wide receivers who would make any kind of difference on offense last year. The Raiders made it a point to address the position this offseason and things are looking a lot better. The two most exciting new faces are Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards. The rookies have already impressed Renfrow:
It’s been so impressive to watch [Edwards and Ruggs] play, honestly. I feel like last year I was messing up a route or a concept every other play and you barely have any of that with them. Just the intelligence that they are bringing, it really has been very impressive. Whether it’s a freshman coming into college or in my second training camp watching rookies come in, they are two of the best that I have ever seen. To be able to – because you have so much going on in your head just in making sure you line up the right way and how you want to attack this guy but there’s no technique. What’s been impressive is that they are finding ways to remember what to do and then find better ways to do it.
The competitiveness with Nelson Agholor coming in and Zay Jones, it’s just been one of the more fun camps so far for me. You’re competing because [Agholor] will go out there and make a play, then Henry, then Bryan and Marcell Ateman. All these guys are making great plays and you’re just excited to go be a part of it. It’s been a lot of fun and those rookies have kind of jump-started it.
Having more talented wide receivers on the roster should only help everybody. With the passing game hopefully opening up, Renfrow could turn into one of the most effective slot receivers in the NFL.
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Carr Hyped for New WR Corps
Renfrow might be hyped about the new wide receiver talent but there’s nobody happier than Derek Carr. The quarterback hasn’t been blessed with an abundance of receiver talent over his career. In 2020, he should have his most impressive group of pass-catchers yet.
“If you think about it, we can put Bryan, Tyrell or Henry, or Zay, all those guys, Nelly [Nelson Agholor], you put whoever you want outside and you put Darren Waller and you got Jason Witten, our tight ends, Foster [Moreau], Derek [Carrier], and then you put Renfrow in there. Who’s going to cover Renfrow? Who’s going to cover our backs? I think that was Coach Gruden’s goal, his vision, his dream when he got here,” Carr said. “We talked about, ‘Hey, it’s going to take some time but we are going to get to a place where we can do whatever we want on offense.’ We can run the triple option if we want, so I think we’re going to do that in Carolina.”
Carr likes to spread the ball around so having depth at wide receiver is important. The Raiders have the tools to field a top-10 offense this year. If the rookies can mature quickly, it’s going to be hard to stop this unit.
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