Seth Roberts again answers Raiders’ call as No. 3 WR
ALAMEDA, Calif. —The Raiders placed a casting call this offseason for their No. 3 wide receiver.
In March, they signed Griff Whalen and, after adding Jordy Nelson to replace Michael Crabtree, hosted free agents Ryan Grant and Eric Decker on visits. In April, they traded for Martavis Bryant and Ryan Switzer on April 26 and 28, respectively, and sorted through the position in training camp.
All this led to a familiar result.
Seth Roberts.
Last year, no wide receiver saw more offensive snaps for the Raiders than Roberts with 752. He ranked third in the category the previous two seasons. Here the club stands, another year, and Roberts is due to work as the primary slot option come Monday’s opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Others could see work inside, too.
“He’s our starting F receiver,” teammate Amari Cooper said Wednesday. “When you see him out there in practice, he’s always making plays. He’s definitely one that we can depend on.”
The team can depend on Cooper as well. And Nelson for that matter.
Coach Jon Gruden has preached the importance of versatility from his receivers. He wants them to learn multiple positions, something Cooper and Nelson both said Wednesday they’ve done in past seasons. The concept, in part, is to move them around and exploit specific matchups or route combinations the Raiders regard as favorable.
Cooper’s best game last season came in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
A season-high 11 of his 18 targets were from the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. He caught six of those 11 for 95 yards and a touchdown, part of a 211-yard, two-touchdown outburst.
“I am moving around a lot more,” Cooper said of his usage in practices under Gruden. “You never know how it plays out in a game, but hopefully … when you have one guy following you around the whole time, it can be beneficial for you. If you dominate him, everyone is going to say, ‘You dominated that guy.’ But when you go against different guys every play, you can use the same moves.
“If you’re (Rams cornerback Marcus) Peters and I use a move on you to get open, and on the next play, I’m up against their other corner, I can repeat the same move because you haven’t seen it. But if you’re following me around the whole game, I have to change up a lot. It’s, what, 60 plays a game? I don’t have 60 moves. I have a lot of them, but I don’t have 60 moves, so that’s where it gets a little difficult.”
Roberts stands to serve as the Raiders’ No. 3 receiver.
One by one, the other contenders faded.
Switzer started strong in the spring but stalled in the summer before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers last month. Whalen outperformed Switzer but, while competing for a roster spot, suffered turf toe. Whalen signed an injury settlement and is recovering as a free agent. Bryant struggled to grasp the playbook to the degree the Raiders desired. He was cut last weekend amid an anticipated suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
That left Roberts.
He played through a double hernia in 2016 when catching 38 of 77 passes, a career-low 49.4 percent rate, for 397 yards and five touchdowns. Last year, he caught 43 of 65, good for a career-high 66.2 percent rate, with 455 yards and a score. Roberts was a trade candidate this offseason, but his contract made that prohibitive. In March, he received a $2 million roster bonus, and his $2.25 million base salary became fully guaranteed.
Today, the Raiders don’t mind.
They’ll keep him busy, again.
More Raiders: Follow all of our Raiders coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Raiders and @NFLinVegas on Twitter.
Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.
