Antonio Brown’s story in Oakland is far from written, but the early returns on the Raiders high-profile offseason investment are positive. Brown missed the opening day of voluntary team activities, but it was an absence the team knew about and AB has gone above and beyond expectations in terms of his dedication to working with Derek Carr in the offseason.
Certainly Brown comes with some presumed risk (why else would the Steelers have let him go so cheap), but the Raiders have to feel a lot better about their investment in Brown than what the Browns are feeling after trading for Odell Beckham Jr. Not only was the cost much higher to acquire OBJ, but it already looks like Beckham isn’t in a hurry to get on the same page as his head coach in Cleveland. Beckham’s camp has indicated that he will be with the Browns when mandatory activities begin, but the absence of a team leader (especially one needing reps with a new quarterback), even in May, isn’t the way the Browns preferred their OBJ investment to jump out of the gate.
The Raiders may not have been in the market for Beckham, but they were absolutely determined to add a big-name wide receiver in the offseason and as it turned out, they added two. After featuring one of the weakest wide receiver groups in the league in 2018, the Raiders now have the fourth-highest team payroll at wide receiver behind Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia.
Just a small early-June prediction to wet your appetite for 2019… expect Brown, as long as he and Carr stay healthy to have a huge year. The Raiders have a tough schedule so they may not be playing with a lead a lot this year (again). Carr loves to let his receivers make plays on 50/50 balls and this season the Raiders will feature two of the best in the league. Tyrell Williams doesn’t have the hands like Brown (who does?), but at 6’4 you can be sure that Williams will see plenty of jump balls from Carr.
Lastly, this tweet was in February. Some laughed. Some wanted Beckham. Some didn’t want Brown.
Don’t know who (Beckham, Brown,…?), but a big name wide receiver is going to land with the #Raiders between now and day 2 of the draft.
— Raiders Beat (@RaidersBeat) February 15, 2019
It’ll be interesting to see how we look back on the trades for Brown and Beckham in 3-4 years. Just a guess, but one of them is bound to fall off the wagon at some point sooner than later.
Who do YOU think it will be?
twitter: @raidersbeat
I’ll write AB’s story to get it out of the way. He gets the ball throw to him less than Amari Cooper, and either walks mid-season, or pulls a Randy Moss and refuses to perform as paid out of protest and frustration. He goes to a team with a REAL QB, like Dallas Cowboys and has another break out season, like Amari Cooper. The end.
All star wide receivers are GREAT, but USELESS when we have a subpar, bust of a QB. Great way to waste the draft, and blow money on players that won’t return next year. Raiders 5-11 with Derek Carr under center, points coming primarily from defense and rushing.