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Showing posts from June, 2012

Preseason Profile: Travionte Session, WR

Travionte Session #87 College: Nevada Height: 6'2" Weight: 195 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: N/A 3 Cone Drill: N/A 20 Yard Shuttle: N/A Bench Press: N/A Vertical Jump: N/A Broad Jump: N/A   Travionte Session is the true wild card of the group. Coming from the infamous “Pistol” offense at Nevada where he played a long side Colin Kaepernick, Session didn’t see a lot of targets in college. The “Pistol” offense doesn’t exactly cater to wide receivers which meant Session played a more important role blocking than he did receiving. As a non invitee to the NFL combine Session has not had many chances to prove his worth to NFL coaches. The Raiders scouts saw enough of this guy though to give him a shot in camp. Session does run well, but that alone will not make him stand out in Oakland where speed isn’t exactly hard to come by. Session is 6’2″ so he has the height to go up over defenders to make catches, but doesn’t have a very big frame weighing in at

Preseason Profile: Thomas Mayo, WR

Thomas Mayo #19 College: California (PA) Height: 6'1¼" Weight: 207 lbs Arm Length: 32.5" Hand Size: 9.3"   40 Yard Dash: 4.53 3 Cone Drill: 7.10 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.61 Bench Press: 15 reps Vertical Jump: 39" Broad Jump: 121"   Thomas Mayo is another guy who put up big numbers at a small school. He certainly has the size to be effective at 6’1″ 200 lbs, and he used that to his advantage in his collegiate career. The main concern with Mayo is that he is not a great athlete. He is stiff in the hips coming out of breaks and struggles to adjust to the ball at times. He does have the ability to make flashy catches at times, but his hands are a bit inconsistent. Mayo has average 4.5 speed which is fast enough to be effective in the NFL, but he doesn’t seem to have the burst or quickness to his game either. He has had some drop problems in OTA’s to this point but it’s still early. He still has a chance to rebound, but will need to improve quickly or he mi

Preseason Profile: Brandon Carswell, WR

Brandon Carswell #13 College: USC Height: 6'1" Weight: 201 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: 4.47 3 Cone Drill: 7.04 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.22 Bench Press: 18 reps Vertical Jump: 34" Broad Jump: 112"   Brandon Carswell does not fit the mold of a typical Raider receiver when you think back to years past. He doesn’t have blinding speed, he’s not known for stretching the defense, and you could probably count on one hand the number of times he has run a 9 route. That does not mean he doesn’t have a lot of valuable assets to his game though. He has solid hands, runs pretty good routes, and has good size and strength. He stands 6’1″ 201 lbs and completed 18 reps of 225 lbs at his pro day prior to this years draft. I look at Carswell as more of a possession type receiver which actually fits the new West Coast offensive scheme for the Raiders pretty well. He does well at finding soft spots in zone defenses and is also decent after the catch. His stren

Preseason Profile: Duke Calhoun, WR

Duke Calhoun #14 College: Memphis Height: 6'2" Weight: 195 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: 4.49 3 Cone Drill: 6.75 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.46 Bench Press: 12 reps Vertical Jump: 35" Broad Jump: 124"   Duke Calhoun was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Giants in 2010 after catching 19 touchdowns during his time at Memphis. Calhoun made the Giants final roster his rookie year drawing all kinds of praise from the coaching staff throughout camp. Most of his playing time came on special teams in his rookie year and he finished the season with just one catch. The coaches were just as impressed with Calhoun to start 2011, but the emergence of Victor Cruz along with draft picks Ramses Barden and Jerrel Jernigan didn’t leave much room left for Calhoun. He later injured his hamstring in training camp which led to his release. Calhoun has good height but has a very slender build. He can run pretty well as he posted a 4.44 40 yard dash coming out

Preseason Profile: Derrick Carrier, WR

Derrick Carrier #89 College: Beloit Height: 6'3" Weight: 238 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: 4.50 3 Cone Drill: 6.65 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.08 Bench Press: 15 reps Vertical Jump: 38" Broad Jump: 122"   Derrick Carrier is truly playing the role of underdog this season. Coming into the league from Division III Beloit college he faces one of the biggest jumps in competition that one could imagine. As to be expected from anyone making the jump from Division III to the NFL, he dominated his opposition in college setting school records in catches, yards, and touchdowns just to name a few. Standing at 6’3″ 238 lbs many expected Carrier to begin his career at tight end. The Raiders, who brought him in for a private workout prior the draft, had other ideas. Carrier has been working exclusively as a wide receiver through mini-camp and OTA’s making his battle for a roster spot that much tougher. Carrier is not the type of guy who relies on talent alone

Preseason Profile: Louis Murphy, WR

Louis Murphy #18 College: Florida Height: 6'2⅜" Weight: 203 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: 4.32 3 Cone Drill: 6.95 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.45 Bench Press: 12 reps Vertical Jump: N/A Broad Jump: N/A   Louis Murphy finds himself on the roster bubble heading into this year. Early on in his career he looked like he might be the next big play maker at receiver for the Raiders, but after hauling in 75 catches and 6 TD’s in his first two years he has struggled to stay healthy and only had 15 total receptions last year. Coming from a high-powered offense at Florida, Murphy was another one of those late round finds for the Raiders in 2009. He came into the league with a chip on his shoulder wanting to prove to the world that he was more than just another speed guy at wide receiver. He will need to recapture that determination if he plans to work his way back into the receiver rotation in Oakland. Starring him in the face are a hungry group of newcomers who bel

Preseason Profile: Rod Streater, WR

Rod Streater #80 College: Temple Height: 6'2" Weight: 193 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: 4.46 3 Cone Drill: 7.06 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.07 Bench Press: 18 reps Vertical Jump: 37.5" Broad Jump: 133"   It’s still early, but few new comers are drawing as much buzz as Rod Streater. After being singled out by Dennis Allen in his first mini camp for “looking sharp”, Rod has continued to impress. Vittorio Tafur, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, had this to say while watching a recent OTA session: “Still haven’t seen rookie WR Rod Streater drop a ball, or do anything but tuck ball in for a nap every pass thrown his way”. Streater has flown under the radar for different reasons to this point in his career. He started out at a junior college before transferring to Temple for his Junior and Senior year. He has the size at 6’3″ 200 lbs to be an effective wide out at the NFL level and showed flashes of excellence in college but was inconsistent

Preseason Profile: Eddie McGee, WR

Eddie McGee #16 College: Illinois Height: 6'3" Weight: 207 lbs Arm Length: N/A Hand Size: N/A   40 Yard Dash: 4.50 3 Cone Drill: 6.68 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.51 Bench Press: 10 reps Vertical Jump: 31" Broad Jump: 115"   Eddie McGee is a guy who has been forgotten by many with all the new comers this season. The former quarterback from Illinois turned wide receiver got his chance during training camp last year. McGee showed his potential throughout camp, but fell short of a spot on the final 53 mainly because he was still very raw. He was also slowed by an ankle injury towards the end of camp last year as well which pretty much sealed his fate. His work was not without reward though as the coaches saw enough potential in him to sign him to the practice squad and keep him around all last season. McGee has added some muscle mass and is ready to get back at it again this year. Once last year ended McGee sought out Carson Palmer for help improving his game as a wide

Preseason Profile: Juron Criner, WR

Juron Criner #84 College: Arizona Height: 6'2½" Weight: 224 lbs Arm Length: 32.0" Hand Size: 10.4"   40 Yard Dash: 4.68 3 Cone Drill: 7.15 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.30 Bench Press: 17 reps Vertical Jump: 38" Broad Jump: 117"   Juron Criner who was drafted in the 5th round by the Raiders this year has put an early stamp on this team as well. His draft projections were all over the place depending on who you asked because of one main factor, he doesn’t have great speed. Yes, you read that correctly, it’s truly a new era in Oakland. While his speed obviously hurt his draft stock, many were surprised to see him fall all the way to the 5th round after getting some 2nd round grades based on his size, polished route running and soft hands. That was probably one of the main factors in the Raiders drafting him. He was very good value in the 5th round and has proven that early on in mini-camp and OTA’s. Criner is in a very similar situation that Denarius Moore wa

Preseason Profile: Jacoby Ford, WR

Jacoby Ford #12 College: Clemson Height: 5'8⅞" Weight: 186 lbs Arm Length: 30.4" Hand Size: 9.3"   40 Yard Dash: 4.28 3 Cone Drill: 7.0 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.44 Bench Press: 15 reps Vertical Jump: 33.5" Broad Jump: 115"     That brings me to Jacoby Ford who is an interesting story. A fan favorite from the beginning, his electrifying attributes can not be ignored by anyone. He has the ability to score anytime the ball is in his hands which is the type of player that will give a defensive coordinator gray hair at an early age. His play on the field, however, has been up and down. After bursting onto the scene as a rookie averaging nearly 19 yards per catch and being remembered for his contributions in multiple late game comebacks, he had what many would call a sophomore slump last year. Struggling to stay on the field due to injuries in his second season, Ford played in just 8 games while starting only 3. His 19 catches and 1 touchdown last year left

Preseason Profile: Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR

Darrius Heyward-Bey #85 College: Maryland Height: 6'2" Weight: 210 lbs Arm Length: 38 5/8" Hand Size: 9"   40 Yard Dash: 4.3 3 Cone Drill: 6.8 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.18 Bench Press: 16 reps Vertical Jump: 38.5" Broad Jump: 126"   The projected starter along side Moore is currently Darrius Heyward-Bey. Darrius’ road to this point has been rocky to say the least. After having a forgettable rookie season he has steadily improved his game each of the last 2 years and finally began to “breakout” last year hauling in 64 catches for 975 yards and 4 scores. While there are still many things Heyward-Bey has to improve with his game, there are also many things to like about him. He excels at down field blocking in the running game which is very under-rated by many because it doesn’t show up in a stat line. It’s also hard to find someone to plays harder or has a better work ethic than Heyward-Bey. The improvement in his game reflects those things as well. Much

Preseason Profile: Denarius Moore, WR

Denarius Moore #17 College: Tennessee Height: 5'11⅝" Weight: 194 lbs Arm Length: 33.0" Hand Size: 9.399"   40 Yard Dash: 4.43 3 Cone Drill: 6.78 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.15 Bench Press: 13 reps Vertical Jump: 36" Broad Jump: 118"   Denarius Moore will be the most interesting player to watch this year. He was a 5th round pick in the 2011 draft and viewed as a young project receiver at the time. That is until the lockout ended and training camp got under way last year. Coaches and fans alike quickly learned that Moore was wasting no time in making his mark in the league. Moore consistently went out and made play after play in camp and had everyone buzzing. Of course,  it's always tough to really put a final judgement on a player in camp. Many tempered their expectations until seeing him in game action. Something was different about Moore from the beginning and it was obvious if you were paying close attention. He was not looking for media attention