Three NFL teams with Super Bowl aspirations that need to draft or trade for a top receiver if they want to be successful in the 2022 season.
Ja’Marr Chase. Tyreek Hill. Davante Adams. DeAndre Hopkins. All of these star wide receivers are crucial to their team’s success. All four teams; the Bengals, Chiefs, Packers, and Cardinals, made it to the NFL playoffs. One made it to the Super Bowl. To win in this league you need a true number one, stud receiver.
Here are three teams that need to get a top receiver this offseason to have a chance.
NFL teams in need of a star WR: Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders squeaked into the playoffs after a strong end of the season push by quarterback Derek Carr. However, the warm feeling of breaking a four-year drought from the playoffs ended in an abrupt first-round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals who would make it to the Super Bowl.
The Raiders’ final play ended in an interception at the goal line where there were zero Raiders receivers even inside the endzone. Carr made it work with a receiving corps of Zay Jones, Hunter Renfrow, Bryan Edwards, and DeSean Jackson, despite the absence of Darren Waller who was out on a knee injury for most of December.
Jackson and Jones both hit free agency this offseason; Jackson is past his prime years and Jones garnered more yards on pass interference calls than he did actual receptions. Hunter Renfrow stepped up as the #1 receiver logging 1,038 yards with 9 touchdowns.
Edwards is still a developing project and while Waller is hopefully healthy for the 2022 season the Raiders front office needs to secure another option for Derek Carr.
While GM Dave Ziegler will likely not score the Davante Adams (Carr’s former college teammate) sweepstakes, the Raiders scouting department is hopefully circling a first-round receiver or a top free agent receiver for Carr.
Since the arrest and subsequent release of Henry Ruggs III in the early months of the season, the Raiders were clearly hurting from the absence of a deep threat speed option. While there does not appear to be a Ja’Marr Chase in this draft there are several options that will be within the Raiders grasp at the #22 pick in the first round of the draft.
The Raiders’ defense improved by leaps and bounds but the offense was not reciprocating which led to the first-round loss in the playoffs. A consistent top receiving option would give the Las Vegas Raiders a better shot in the upcoming season.