Nelson will reel in 90 receptions

Here is the boldest prediction of them all. I saved the best for last or maybe the craziest? I’m sure some of you reading this think that is even beyond bold, but honestly, it’s really not. What type of system does Gruden like to run? The west coast offense. We are going to see a lot of pass-heavy drives that involve a lot of short curls or drag routes. That’s where Nelson will earn the bulk of his receptions.

There are going to be drives where Gruden will want Carr to get a couple easy throws in to build him up. Not all of them will go to Jordy Nelson, but a good amount. He’ll also be Carr’s security blanket. Nelson is the best receiver for the scramble drill. Last year, the Raiders were horrid when it came to that situation. Too many sitting ducks waiting to get picked to be goose. This is one of the reasons why Nelson is a great receiver. His situational awareness and ability to find the crevice of the defense is astounding. You just can’t teach that, it’s instinct.

Even if Nelson was “washed” he would still excel at this. How many times have we seen Aaron Rodgers scramble out of the pocket and find Nelson? It was a thing of beauty to watch. Now Nelson gets to recreate that with Carr, who is an underrated mobile quarterback. It was almost always a given that Nelson would tally around 90 receptions for the season. That narrative will remain for 2018. From 53 receptions in 2017 to 90 in 2018.