Raiders re-sign WR Zay Jones

[NYRaider]

10 minutes ago, jimkelly02 said:

What special teams does Jones play?  Cuz I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play ST.

You are correct he played 0 special teams snaps in 2020. 

[Roninho]

On 3/19/2021 at 6:23 PM, ronjon1990 said:

The back end of the WR class looks very enticing. 

Jones shouldn't be long for the squad. Hope he enjoys the needlessly free $2.5m golden parachute....which he doesn't need since he levitates and stuff. 

You think they cut him after guaranteeing 2.5 mio?

Imo it kind of makes it not worthy to draft a WR late because wr 1 to 4 we wont cut, and taking a 2.5 mio cap hit cutting jones for a late round rookie?  🤔

[NYRaider]

1 hour ago, Roninho said:

You think they cut him after guaranteeing 2.5 mio?

Imo it kind of makes it not worthy to draft a WR late because wr 1 to 4 we wont cut, and taking a 2.5 mio cap hit cutting jones for a late round rookie?  🤔

I still think we take a swing on a rookie later in the draft. Anthony Schwartz or Josh Imatorbhebhe would be my preference.

Imatorbhebhe was a former 4* recruit that transferred from USC to Illinois, he didn't have great production for Illinois, 55 catches, 931 yards (16.9 ypc), 12 TD in 17 games. But the physical tool set is definitely intriguing. 

His results from his pro day:

• Mesurables: 6'1" 218, 32 3/8" arms, 9 1/4" hands

• 40 time: 4.48 (64th percentile)

• Vertical leap: 46.5" (100th percentile)

• Broad jump: 11'02" (99th percentile)

• 20 yard shuttle: 4.38s (16th percentile) 

• 3-Cone Drill:  7.10s (22nd percentile) 

• Bench reps: 24 (98th percentile) 

[ronjon1990]

2 hours ago, Roninho said:

You think they cut him after guaranteeing 2.5 mio?

Imo it kind of makes it not worthy to draft a WR late because wr 1 to 4 we wont cut, and taking a 2.5 mio cap hit cutting jones for a late round rookie?  🤔

If we keep obsessing over not taking cap hits to rid ourselves of unworthy players, we'll never improve. Just because Gruden and Mayock suck at contracts (see: Mariota, Nassib, etc.) doesn't mean healthy competition should cease.

Jones is a known commodity- that is, everyone knows he's hardly worth a roster spot. He's filler. 

If we don't add some competition, I would only further question WTH Gruden and Co. are doing. And if someone outplays our end of roster guys, yes, they deserve the spot. The last thing we need is a repeat of the embarrassment that was begging Keenan Doss to ditch Jacksonville's PS to round out our roster again. 

The Amazon deal all but guarantees next year's cap is going to rebound as usual, and 2.5 jist isn't worth fretting over. 

Frankly, I would go into the season with 6 WRs. Brown is coming off of a season where he was injured and is a relative unknown. Ruggs might not take the first step towards becoming a WR1. Edwards has an injury history and provef very little last year. Renfrow is a concussion away from being Jordan Cameron. And Zay is just roster fodder. 

[NYRaider]

1 minute ago, ronjon1990 said:

Frankly, I would go into the season with 6 WRs. Brown is coming off of a season where he was injured and is a relative unknown. Ruggs might not take the first step towards becoming a WR1. Edwards has an injury history and provef very little last year. Renfrow is a concussion away from being Jordan Cameron. And Zay is just roster fodder. 

Yeah, as I've said earlier I'd like another WR later in the draft. Anthony Schwartz (speed demon) or Josh Imatorbhebhe (big bodied physical WR) would both make sense. 

[ronjon1990]

48 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

I still think we take a swing on a rookie later in the draft. Anthony Schwartz or Josh Imatorbhebhe would be my preference.

Imatorbhebhe was a former 4* recruit that transferred from USC to Illinois, he didn't have great production for Illinois, 55 catches, 931 yards (16.9 ypc), 12 TD in 17 games. But the physical tool set is definitely intriguing. 

To be fair to him, Illinois' offense has been an absolute mess and he had Brandon Peters as his QB (when healthy). Plus, if I do say so myself, his presence was a visible upgrade to a BAD offense despite the lack of statistical production. 

He's got that "better pro than college player" vibe going for him. 

[NYRaider]

Just now, ronjon1990 said:

To be fair to him, Illinois' offense has been an absolute mess and he had Brandon Peters as his QB (when healthy). Plus, if I do say so myself, his presence was a visible upgrade to a BAD offense despite the lack of statistical production. 

He's got that "better pro than college player" vibe going for him. 

100% and honestly 55 receptions for 931 yards (16.9 YPC) and 12 TD is only 17 games for Illinois is actually pretty solid production. Especially considering that Illinois only passed for 3,600 yards over the course of the last two seasons. 

I definitely agree that he has the "better pro than college player" vibe going for him. When you watch his film it's clear that he's a really good athlete with good hands that uses his body well to make contested catches. His pro day numbers back up the film as well as he absolutely lit it up the other day. 

[ronjon1990]

2 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

Yeah, as I've said earlier I'd like another WR later in the draft. Anthony Schwartz (speed demon) or Josh Imatorbhebhe (big bodied physical WR) would both make sense. 

Schwartz, Imatorbhebhe, Nico Collins, Simi Fehoko, Dyami Brown, Damonte Coxie, TJ Vasher, Warren Jackson....

To varying degrees, each have something to offer. I'm sure there's more to the list, too. It wasn't long ago that guys like Coxie, Collins, and Vasher (among others) were considered high day 2 picks. 

With the opt outs this last year, this would be the year to take some bold swings in later rounds. New darlings emerged over the season and recency bias is definitely a thing. Should be a lot of surprises available on day 3 with guys who "should've been gone already". I don't view this year's day 3 crop in general as your standard day 3 lot. Big names and potential day 1 starters coming from the 5th or so wouldn't surprise me this year as much as in the past.

[ronjon1990]

5 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

100% and honestly 55 receptions for 931 yards (16.9 YPC) and 12 TD is only 17 games for Illinois is actually pretty solid production. Especially considering that Illinois only passed for 3,600 yards over the course of the last two seasons. 

I definitely agree that he has the "better pro than college player" vibe going for him. When you watch his film it's clear that he's a really good athlete with good hands that uses his body well to make contested catches. His pro day numbers back up the film as well as he absolutely lit it up the other day. 

Yup. If I remember correctly, his brother was a big reason he left USC to begin with- so it wasn't like he was 100% stuck behind other big names at USC with no hope. 

I seem to recall a lot of talent buying into Lovie Smith for a bit and Illinois being a hot transfer spot that just didn't really work out for a variety of reasons.

[NYRaider]

6 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

Schwartz, Imatorbhebhe, Nico Collins, Simi Fehoko, Dyami Brown, Damonte Coxie, TJ Vasher, Warren Jackson....

I'll have to watch more of Collins, Fehoko, Brown, Coxie, Vasher, and Jackson. But it seems to be a pretty deep WR class with some nice value in the later rounds. 

[NYRaider]

6 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

Yup. If I remember correctly, his brother was a big reason he left USC to begin with- so it wasn't like he was 100% stuck behind other big names at USC with no hope. 

I seem to recall a lot of talent buying into Lovie Smith for a bit and Illinois being a hot transfer spot that just didn't really work out for a variety of reasons.

Yeah and Illinois didn't really put him in a great position to succeed with subpar QB play over the past two seasons. I'd definitely take a flier on him in round 4/5.