Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders tight end Clive Walford (88) catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr (not pictured) during the second quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland Raiders 3rd-round pick Clive Walford is the best tight end from the 2016 NFL Draft. In college, he starred at the Uninversity of Miami where he re-wrote all the tight ends record books. If you look at all the great tight ends that went from the Miami to the NFL, those are significant accomplishments.
Kellen Winslow Jr. Jeremy Shockey, Jimmy Graham and Greg Olson are among the names that preceded him. If you had a chance to see him while he was at Miami, you know he falls right along the lines of the tight ends that came before him. The last solid tight end the Raiders had was Zach Miller from the mid-to-late 2,000s but the team had nothing else then.
Now, they have quarterback Derek Carr with receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. So the addition of Walford makes the Raiders offense unstoppable as they now have a tight end that can get vertical. His ability to threaten defenses down the seam brings consequences if the double the Raiders receivers.
That’s because doubling receivers means you’re leaving your linebacker one-on-one with Walford. And his 23-yard touchdown catch showed that he can even beat safeties deep in one-on-one coverage. The only problem with him is that he injured his hamstring during the offseason program.
So instead of participating in training camp and learning the offense, he was rehabbing. But he’s starting to get up to speed with his conditioning and his knowledge of the offense. The Raiders have gradually given him more to the point where Sunday, they revealed what kind of weapon he is.
Along with the 23-yard touchdown, he had another catch for 19 yards, giving him two for 42 yards. He can also block so opposing defenses won’t always know if it’s a run or pass when he’s in there. It’s no accident the Raiders offense was so explosive Sunday with him in there, giving the defense another vertical weapon to worry about.
The Raiders offense is just scratching the surface of what they can do with Walford in the fold.
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