While the upside his physical tools gave him was undeniable, little was expected by way of production when the Raiders claimed him off the waiver wire in March 2013.
Cut after a short stint with the New England Patriots, and by the Dallas Cowboys before that, he was having a difficult time staying on an active roster when the Raiders brought him in.
That new opportunity with the Silver and Black did not get off to the best of starts either, as he was suspended for the first four games of the regular season, and yet another release certainly could have been an option.
However, betting on Holmes putting it together, the Raiders chose not to cut him, instead giving him the opportunity to come back and contribute after the suspension.
While he needed to work his way back into the rotation and earn his snaps upon returning, he was quickly able to establish himself as one of the offense's most reliable playmakers, performing at a high level throughout the second half of the year.
Only seeing significant snaps in the team's final seven games, Holmes tallied 25 receptions for 431 yards, good for an impressive 17.2 yards-per-catch rate.
Averaging that seven-game production over the course of a full 16-game season would have given him 985 yards on 57 catches, which would make for the highest Raiders receiving-yard season since Randy Moss' 1,005 in 2005.
So, of course, the projected statistics are there, but what makes Holmes the kind of impact player he is and can be moving forward?
More so than any Raiders receiver in recent memory, Holmes combines his impressive 6'4" 210-pound frame with his speed to separate downfield and the ability to high-point the ball, often ma...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
