One of the biggest needs for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason is at wide receiver. Their offense suffered a major blow when Henry Ruggs III was involved in a fatal car crash that resulted in him being released.
Without Ruggs, the Raiders offense was lacking a speed and downfield threat. DeSean Jackson was called upon to help fill that void and showed that he still had some juice left, but isn’t nearly as explosive as he once was.
Las Vegas has an excellent possession receiver in Hunter Renfrow and an all-world tight end in Darren Waller, but the team needs someone that can take the top off the defense, adding another element to the offense. Luckily for them, there are plenty of wide receiver options the team can look into in free agency.
This is a deep crop of wide receivers this year that can fill many needs. There are No. 1 wide receivers such as Davante Adams, Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin available. Big-bodied deep threats such as Mike Williams and D.J. Chark are on the open market as well.
But, the one player that could make the most sense for the Raiders is Michael Gallup of the Dallas Cowboys. Gallup tore his ACL in Week 17 so he may start the season on the sideline, but his skill set would fit in with Las Vegas perfectly.
Gallup may look for a one-year prove-it deal so that he can cash in again as a free agent in 2023. But, given how young he is at 25-years old, there are teams that may be comfortable giving him a multi-year deal.
His after-the-catch skills are excellent, bringing an added dimension to the Raiders offense that already has two solid options in the passing game. He may not have the upside of a true No. 1 wide receiver, but he has the versatility to play multiple spots in the formation and could certainly carve out a big role as a complementary player in Las Vegas.
Projected to land a deal with an AAV of $11.8 million via Spotrac, Gallup is in line for a nice raise and should be looking for an expanded role as well. With Las Vegas, he would function as their nominal No. 1 receiver along with Renfrow, offering a much bigger role than he had behind Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb in Dallas
