Raiders could look to Williams to remedy WR problems

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, January 29, 2009  |  Comments( 43 )

Oakland Raiders
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OK, because Tom Cable is officially (kind of) the head coach of the Oakland Raiders (maybe), it’s (semi-)safe to start shifting the focus to personnel decisions.

(We’re just waiting on John Herrera to finally confirm, not deny, something in his lifetime.)

Until then, the focus will be shifted on one of the Raiders biggest offseason needs -- wide receiver.

Al Davis and company spent plenty of money on the wideout position last offseason in an attempt to finally shore up a pass-catching corps that hasn’t fielded a 1,000-yard receiver since Randy Moss barely broke the threshold in 2005. The 79-year-old owner gave ex-Denver Broncos wideout Javon Walker a six-year, $55 million deal and dished out another $2 million for a year’s worth of services from former Panther Drew Carter.

All said and done, injuries and other incidents permitted Walker and Carter to partake in just eight games and rack up all of 196 yards receiving (all from Walker) last season.

Now, it’s the same old story all over again.

Carter is a free agent again, while Walker should be returning -- but nobody knows in what kind of shape -- while veteran Ronald Curry is coming off of one of his worst NFL seasons last year. That leaves Johnnie Lee Higgins, Chaz Schilens and Todd Watkins. Of the three, Higgins is the most established, with just 28 career catches.

So what could Oakland do?

Signing a player like T.J. Houshmandzadeh would cost entirely too much for a team like the Raiders. Not only are they coming off a spend-happy 2008 offseason, but they aren’t an offense equipped to consistently feed a big-name wideout. They have a young QB still learning the ins and outs of the NFL, a coaching staff that's almost entirely new and an overall young offense.

Though, one player that could come at a much lesser cost and fit better into Oakland’s offense is Reggie Williams.

The soon-to-be-ex-Jaguars receiver has already reportedly taken his nameplate off his locker in Jacksonville and is ready to test the open market. Like Carter last offseason, Williams has great size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) with respectable, albeit not tremendous, NFL stats.

The 25-year-old has five years' worth of numbers from his stint with the Jags, totaling 189 receptions, 2,322 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2007, the former Washington Huskies standout posted his best season, catching 38 balls for 629 yards and 10 TDs; it was his second consecutive season with 600 or more yards.

With so many questions surrounding the Raider receiving corps, Williams could compete for any spot from first wideout to anywhere in the slot. Walker is being paid No. 1 receiver money, but is far from it; Higgins went from being a special teamer to a slot WR to a starter in just one year; and Schilens and Watkins emerged very late in the season as respectable targets. And then there’s still Curry, who went from a starter to a benchwarmer by the end of last year.

With a pre-draft perspective, then, the pass-catching department in Oakland appears still very much up in the air.

Reggie Williams may not be the big name everyone in Oakland wants (literally, if you’re thinking T.J. Houshmandzadeh). But, if the price is right, he could be the one cost-saving ingredient that the Raiders desperately need in 2009.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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