One of the biggest weaknesses for the Oakland Raiders the last few seasons was the lack of a true No. 1 wide receiver and a strong corps to back them up. The Raiders are making attempts to change that in 2015 after drafting Amari Cooper with the No. 4 pick. The former Alabama standout is expected to become Derek Carr's new safety blanket, but head coach Jack Del Rio is also confident in players like Michael Crabtree and Andre Holmes to be productive on the field.
While Cooper is expected to be a success, Crabtree is more of an unknown. The wide receiver told the media via CSNBayArea.com that he understands he has a lot to prove in Oakland this year after a roller coaster stint with the San Francisco 49ers. After releasing James Jones onto the free agent market, the pressure is truly on Crabtree and Del Rio believes he will step up to the plate.
"I don't know that I'd really concern myself with how people felt before he got here," Del Rio said, via ESPN.com. "I'm really most concerned with the teammate that he is and the player that he is for us here and now. Our focus will be on him being a good teammate and him competing for his role, creating his role, working with the quarterbacks, getting on the same page and being a productive player for us."
Del Rio has the same confidence in Trent Richardson who is also being given a second chance in Oakland. After failed stints in both Cleveland and Indianapolis, Richardson is expected to compete for the starting running back job alongside Latavius Murray who was a breakout star last season. Del Rio favors the idea of a competition as he believes it will push both players to improve in the upcoming year.
"We'll let these guys compete for their roles," Del Rio said, via AL.com. "I think having some solid depth, having guys in there that have done it, that can step up in protection, that can be reliable targets getting out of the backfield on third down, those are important qualities. Adding the ability to cover kicks and do things on special teams, that's important. Not everybody can be the guy that scores the touchdown. We have other things that have to be done and we're going to ask our guys to be unselfish, to play hard and play together. We just talked about three good players that will have a chance to compete for their roles and create opportunities for themselves to be heavily involved."
