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With the NFL trade deadline approaching, there have already been some noticeable trades. The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t been mentioned in potential trade rumors but that doesn’t mean a move isn’t in the works. General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden have shown in the past that they’re willing to make trades and with the team being in playoff contention, they could look to make a splash.
The Atlanta Falcons are in the process of possibly blowing everything up and the Raiders could get on the phone with them to see if a certain player is available. David Carr, brother of quarterback Derek Carr, believes the Raiders should make a push to trade for wide receiver Julio Jones.
“The Raiders have to be very interested in Jones,” Carr wrote for the Fresno Bee. “If they add him to an already deep receiving corps, that’s just going to make everyone better.”
Jones wouldn’t come cheap but there’s no doubt he would be a major impact wide receiver for the Raiders. Trading for him would give them a pair of impressive Alabama wide receivers. Carr expanded on why Las Vegas should go after Jones:
Put Julio Jones on the Raiders and a defense just doesn’t have enough bodies to appropriately cover all of Las Vegas’ receivers and stop Josh Jacobs from running the football with one of the best offensive lines in the league.
They’d have Darren Waller and Jones. They’d have Henry Ruggs III to take the top off the coverage and then they’d have Hunter Renfrow to attack the middle of the field.
It would be the dream scenario.
Jones is one of those few guys where if a defense tries to go one-on-one with a cornerback, Jones is the matchup bet every time.
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Raiders Offense Unstoppable With Jones?
Right now, the Raiders actually have a pretty solid wide receiver corps. Henry Ruggs has looked really good and Nelson Agholor has stepped up. However, there still hasn’t been a player to emerge as a true number one quite yet. Jones would be that guy and Carr believes that the Raiders offense would be unstoppable if they added him:
If the defense double-teams Jones, the Raiders get a one-on-one with Waller and he’s going to win every time or they’d get one-on-ones with Ruggs and Renfrow and they’re going to win every time.
When the Raiders played New England a few weeks back, Ruggs was out so the Patriots were able to use Stephon Gilmore to cover Waller.
What if they can’t do that? What if they have Waller, Jones, Ruggs and Renfrow out there, with Josh Jacobs? Now what do they do?
The Raiders offense already looks pretty unstoppable. Adding Jones to the mix just wouldn’t even be fair.
Would a Trade for Jones Turn the Raiders Into Contenders?
Before the Raiders even begin to think about a trade for Jones, they need to ask themselves if giving up all it would take to get him turns them into contenders right now? It’ll likely take at least a first or second-round pick and change to get him from Atlanta. However, adding Jones turns the Raiders into a potentially Super Bowl-level offense.
Now, the defense is still a concern but the offense could be good enough to get the Raiders over the hump. As Carr pointed out, the team would literally have no weaknesses on offense with Jones on the roster. They have an elite running back, an elite offensive line, an elite tight end and a very good quarterback. Ruggs might be an elite wide receiver one day but he’s not there quite yet. Bringing in a player of Jones’ caliber turns the Raiders into a real threat to win the AFC.
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