Why Oakland Raiders Receivers Are as Much to Blame as Terrell Pryor

There’s been a lot of attention and criticism surrounding the recent struggles of Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and for good reason.

Yet as much as Pryor is responsible for the team’s current slide, his supporting cast of wide receivers hasn’t helped, either.

Since completing nearly 79 percent of his passes and garnering a career-high 135.7 passer rating in the Raiders’ win over San Diego in Week 5, Pryor has gone into the tank. Over the last four games, his completion percentage has tumbled, his rating has dropped to anemic levels and he’s thrown just one touchdown against eight interceptions.

As bad as those numbers are, it’d be foolish to pin all of it on Pryor, even though his individual regression has been a big factor.

First, consider that he’s had to play most of the season with a makeshift offensive line that has been without starting left tackle Jared Veldheer since training camp. As a result, the Raiders have also struggled to run the ball—with a few exceptions—making it easier for teams to load up against the pass.

Equally critical has been the lack of consistency from Oakland’s wide receivers. None of the six wide outs on the roster have caught more than six passes in a game this season, and Denarius Moore is the only one to have a 100-yard game this year.

The lack of steady production from the receivers is as much to blame as anything for the Raiders’ 3-6 start.

The truth is that Oakland simply doesn’t have a go-to receiver among the bunch. Moore and Rod Streater would be No. 2 receivers—if not No. 3s—on most NFL teams.

The last playmaker that Oakland had at wide receiver was Jerry Rice, who is also the team’s last player to have a 1,000-yard season—which occurred all the way back in 2002. Furthermore, no Raiders wide receiver has caught more tha...

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