(04-09-2022, 10:01 AM)Newton Wrote: So I have seen a lot of contradictory opinions regarding Zay Jones. It seems that from the fans’ perspective, he is a relative unknown who is vastly over paid. That was my initial impression as well. However, he seems to always be talked of fondly by Raiders sports writers. They seem to indicate he is a great pick up, every time you hear them talk about him. What do they know from watching him play, that we don’t? Will he finally break out now that he is more of a clear number two target as opposed to an afterthought on the depth chart? What do you guys predict? Will he exceed expectations, meet expectations, or underwhelm?

Watching all of his targets from last year gave me an appreciation of him.  He wasn't signed to be a number 1 and we should not expect that.  But he can be a good second or third option.  I came away thinking he is a solid pro who elevates the floor of our receiver room.  He gets separation through speed and good route running.  He seems to have a knack for finding the void in the defense and settling into it.  He has pretty good hands.  On the targets he did not catch, two thirds of them were bad throws by Carr and several others were just good plays by the defender.  

It's going to be interesting to see where and how much he plays.  I expect him to be X or Z based on last year's highlights.  Unless we draft a rookie X who can break into the lineup early, three of Jones, Jones, Kirk, and Engram are going to be on the field the majority of the time.  And that is an improvement as a group over what we had last year.  Treadwell and Shenault will get snaps, too.

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