Oakland Raiders: Looking Into the Future, Part IV

Happy New Year, Raider fans! Here's the fourth installment of our look into the future for the Raiders. This week, we look at the Wide Receiver position.

Through the ages, the Raiders in the WR position have either had great success with names like Fred Biletnikoff and Tim Brown, or slim years, with players like Dokie Williams or Cliff Branch as the primary weapon. In those slim years, more was relied on the Tight End position, for good reason.

This season, we saw the Raiders try two different approaches to the WR problem. After Jerry Porter jumped ship, they brought in Javon Walker and Drew Carter. Both weren't great, and while Carter went down injured in the preseason, Javon had a bucket list of troubles, on and off the field. His term ended with the IR taking him out.

Then along came Ashley Lelie, a speedster that spent some time with Denver. His best game came against the same club, and he did have 11 catches and two TDs. And while Ronald Curry's numbers suffered while learning to adjust to a new QB (19 Catches, 2 TDs), his numbers also were punctuated with dropped passes, a demotion, and finally a turf-toe injury that cost him several games.

In his place, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Chaz Schilens, and Lelie helped fill in, and were helped out by the TE and RB position. Oakland's two leading receptions, Zach Miller (56) and Darren McFadden (29), helped show how the team is changing in it's chemistry. It also helped to set the table for what could be a bright future, if the team can develop it's young base.

Higgins and Schilens both have less than three years experience, as does Miller and McFadden, so if this squad can remain together, good things can happen.

For the outlook, I'm thinking we need to declare the Walker experiment over. Him, Carter, and Ronald Curry need to find employment elsewhere. Arman Shields, another young prospect was lost in the preseason, could give us some options. And keeping Ashley Lelie would help give us a deep threat as the players mature.

Most importantly, with the running team presently in place, and with a strong corps of Higgins, Schilens, and Lelie, it'll keep defenses honest...or someone will get open for a long passing play.