DarekeYoung

Oct 5

Las Vegas spent the first three weeks of the season with Nailor as their X receiver, Tre Tucker as their Z, and Jack Bech playing in the

slot in 11 personnel. Las Vegas uses so much 12 personnel that Bech only played 46. 6% of the Raiders' offensive snaps the first two weeks. He suffered a forearm injury last week, leading him to land on injured reserve on Tuesday. During the second half of last week’s game, rather than moving to the next man up at wide receiver, Las Vegas simply used 12 personnel even more frequently than they already were using it. The Raiders only ran 11 personnel for six snaps in this game, compared to 11 snaps out of 13 personnel. 12 personnel was their base offense throughout the game. Cody White was the closest thing to a slot receiver for Las Vegas, as he was the only one to play all six snaps out 11 personnel, and he had the highest rate of slot snaps. The Raiders were rotating their outside receivers more in the first half than usual, with Nailor only playing in 19 of 31 snaps, and Tucker playing in 21 of 31. Both White and Dareke Young were mixing in at times, and the high rate of 13 personnel was also a factor. Nailor didn’t play in the second half, with White taking over as the X receiver in the second half. He played in 46 of a possible 53 snaps, playing ahead of Tucker, who played in 35 of 53. White has made a name for himself catching touchdowns, but he was also fine in this game with two receptions for 36 yards. He has 1. 31 yards per route run on the season, ahead of 0. 71 by Nailor. If Nailor misses time, that could be an opportunity for White to become a starting wide receiver for Las Vegas for the rest of the season.

Corbin Smith·Jul 20

Best Case Scenario: Proving once again that speed kills, Henderson snags a few downfield passes and recording a pair of exciting special teams tackles as a gunner during exhibition games, outshining the likes of Ricky White III and Cody White with a strong all-around month of August to secure a spot on the 53-man roster and carve out an early role in the third phase of the game for Seattle. Worst Case Scenario: Continuing an unfortunate trend from offseason practices, Henderson struggles with consistency as a pass catcher during team drills and preseason games, dropping multiple catchable passes after managing to get open. Without offering much offensive value, his special teams talent isn’t enough alone to beat out a more well-rounded Cody White, and he gets cut with hopes of retaining him on the practice squad. What to Expect: As an offensive player, Henderson fits the bill of a late round flier possessing quality athletic tools and a still unpolished skill set. But that’s not the case on special teams, as Alabama didn’t redshirt him as a true freshman because of how effective he was as a gunner on special teams. From that perspective, with the Seahawks needing to replace Dareke Young on the punt team, he has a potential advantage working in his favor going into his rookie season. But it won’t be easy competing in one of the deepest position groups on the roster, especially with Ricky White III and Cody White both having special teams talent themselves and several cornerbacks battling for roster spots with gunner capabilities as well. Performing well on special teams during the preseason will help his cause, but if he wants to stick on the roster, he will have to demonstrate better reliability as a pass catcher, or practice squad may be his most likely landing spot to open his career.