Raiders keep waiting for Bryan Edwards to blossom at WR

It each seems truthful agelong agone now, fixed each that has happened to the Raiders this year. But if you deliberation backmost acold enough, the words of Jon Gruden astir young wide receiver Bryan Edwards tin inactive beryllium heard.

Back successful August, erstwhile the temperatures successful Las Vegas hovered consistently implicit 100 degrees, Gruden turned the vigor up adjacent much connected Edwards, the Raiders’ second-year wide receiver.

In fact, Gruden went truthful acold arsenic to comparison the imposing 6-3, 215-pound Edwards to Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens.

“He’s going to beryllium a large one. He’s going to beryllium a heck of a player,” Gruden said of Edwards. “He’s got a batch of the intangibles off-the-field that we’re looking for.”

It was meant arsenic a compliment much than anything. Maybe Gruden, being arsenic excitable arsenic helium tin beryllium sometimes, was trying to speech the full happening into existence.

Then again, watching Edwards consistently marque plays successful grooming camp, utilizing his large assemblage and spot to agelong retired to marque catches implicit defenders, it was casual to spot wherefore Gruden would beryllium truthful bullish connected the 2020 third-round prime retired of South Carolina.

And with Edwards going done an injury-plagued rookie play successful which helium was targeted lone 14 times and came up with 11 catches for 193 yards, it was understandable that Gruden would effort to make a bigger signifier from which Edwards could perform.

On the flip side, his comments created big-time expectations for the 23-year-old. Especially erstwhile Raiders backmost Derek Carr joined the enactment by utilizing Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, Carr’s erstwhile Fresno State teammate, as a comp to Edwards.

Four months and 14 games later, some comparisons look a spot ambitious. Edwards has taken affirmative steps successful his 2nd play but possibly not the melodramatic leap immoderate mightiness person expected.

Edwards has been steadfast each play and a mainstay successful the Raiders’ starting offense, which surely represents a affirmative alteration from his rookie year.

The numbers are intelligibly better. He’s been targeted 49 times and travel up with 30 catches for 508 yards and 3 touchdowns. Measured strictly by stats, though, you tin marque the lawsuit this twelvemonth has been a spot of a disappointment.

But it is hard to pinpoint the reasons for his struggles. Edwards is averaging conscionable 3.5 targets, which seems conspicuous successful airy of the release of Henry Ruggs 7 games into the season.

It begs the question of whether Edwards isn’t getting unfastened oregon Carr and the Raiders conscionable haven’t dialed up his fig arsenic often arsenic everyone assumed going into the season.

To Edwards’ credit, helium keeps sticking with it, ne'er complaining astir the fig of targets helium gets from crippled to game.

“I’ve conscionable learned to bask what I do. Just proceed to enactment hard,” Edwards said. “I conscionable effort to spell retired determination and bash my job, bring bully vigor and person amusive with what I’m doing.”

Edwards did travel up with a large touchdown drawback successful the Raiders’ triumph implicit the Cleveland Browns connected Monday. On the play, Edwards utilized bully footwork to make conscionable capable separation from Browns’ cornerback Denzel Ward.

Just arsenic Edwards leaned right, helium saw the shot coming his mode and did a bully occupation adjusting his assemblage and hands to drawback it portion making definite his feet landed inbounds.

In a divided second, helium flashed the power, size, diversion quality and drawback radius that Gruden raved astir during camp.

More than that, it provided a spot of validation for Edwards, who has learned to admit the payoffs erstwhile they arrive.

“To spot it each travel to fruition and spot each the hard enactment wage off, it felt truly good,” Edwards said.

Whether it signals that helium volition beryllium getting much targets remains to beryllium seen. The 7-7 Raiders big the 7-7 Denver Broncos connected Sunday successful a must-win situation, and they would invited a large time from their young wideout. But portion of that is besides predicated connected Carr looking his mode more.

Edwards would similar thing much than to summation his accumulation and the interaction helium has connected the offense. But arsenic he’s learning, it’s each a enactment successful progress.

“Juts continuing to summation trust, continuing to turn arsenic a subordinate and arsenic a person,” Edwards said. “Just make that narration with the quarterback. That’s each I tin truly do.”

That and marque definite helium makes bully erstwhile his fig is called.

“Anytime the shot comes to you, you person to instrumentality vantage of that opportunity. You don’t cognize erstwhile it’s coming again,” Edwards said. “I effort to instrumentality that attack each clip I spot the shot coming to me. I effort to marque immoderate benignant of play truthful it’ll travel back.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.