Las Vegas Raiders Secondary vs. Carolina Panthers Receivers
When the Las Vegas Raiders released veteran defensive backs Prince Amukamara and Damarious Randall, it said a lot about what they think about the young talent in their secondary.
That means Damon Arnette, Jonathan Abram, Trayvon Mullen, Erik Harris, and the like are ready for the spotlight. It’s a great sign that the coaches feel they’ve come along so quickly and now Raiders fans will be able to get a preview of their future quicker than expected.
That preview, though, won’t be easy. While the Panthers are expected to be among the worst teams in the league this year, they are not without talent at the skill positions.
Obviously, they have running back Christian McCaffrey, but they also have a set of receivers that you could argue are underrated.
D.J. Moore comes into his third year as a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver after recording 87 catches for 1,175 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Starting opposite him will be former New York Jets' deep threat Robby Anderson. Undrafted in 2016, Anderson emerged as a big play, if inconsistent talent who’s averaged 15 yards per catch the last two seasons.
Rounding out Carolina’s main cast is versatile Curtis Samuel. Lethal as both a runner and a receiver coming out of Ohio State, Samuel put together his best season last year, recording career-highs of 54 catches for 627 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for 130 yards.
Samuel is liable to line up all over the field, making it important for the Raiders to try to limit mismatches that the Panthers will want to create.
All of this is without mentioning McCaffrey’s skill as a receiver. He caught 116 balls last year, after all. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Panthers lined him up wide often.
All of this points to the fact that it won’t be a cakewalk for the Raiders on defense this Sunday, especially for the team's young secondary.
They wouldn’t be in this position though if the coaching staff didn’t think they could handle it. They just have to go out there and prove they can run with it.
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