We all know about the Las Vegas Raiders’ obvious need for a quarterback. It’s the most highly-discussed Raiders issue at the moment, and we’ll have to see how things unfold before we know exactly what Las Vegas will be doing at the position.
In the meantime, we should also be concerning ourselves with another major area of need for the Raiders: wide receiver.
Thanks to the Davante Adams trade last October, Las Vegas has been left with Jakobi Meyers and not a whole lot else in the receiving corps.
Fortunately, the Raiders have a ton of cap room to go out and sign some pieces in free agency, but there is also a chance that Las Vegas whiffs on the top receivers on the market. Let’s face it: would you blame Tee Higgins for not wanting to join a team with the Raiders’ situation under center?
While that doesn’t necessarily mean the Raiders will strike out entirely in free agency (they could definitely bring in some nice auxiliary weapons), we cannot discount the possibility that Las Vegas may have to focus its attention on the NFL Draft.
Yes, the Raiders will be more focused on drafting a quarterback than anything else (unless they do something like sign Sam Darnold), but they also must pay mind to the wide receiver position, especially considering how deep this draft class is with receiver talent.
Pro Football Network is predicting Las Vegas to bag a very interesting wide out in the third round of the NFL Draft, projecting the Silver and Black to land Iowa State Cyclones standout Jayden Higgins in tis most recent mock draft.
“Standing at 6’4″, Higgins combines his height with an excellent catch radius,” PFN wrote. “However, he is also a crisp route runner, which makes him extremely dangerous. He is more of a possession receiver than a field stretcher, but if he can develop into a red-zone weapon and chain-mover, they can find speedsters to stretch the field elsewhere.”
There is nothing wrong with a possession receiver. The Raiders just need guys who can regularly catch the ball, and Higgins could represent that for them.
Higgins is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he hauled in 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns, establishing himself as one of the biggest sleeper candidates this April.
