The Raiders have signed Ryan Grant to a one-year deal, and it’s an underwhelming addition. At best, he’ll be a lesser third receiver.
Grant is good enough to make a 53-man roster, but he doesn’t have enough size, speed or talent to be a starter. I don’t think most teams would even want him as their No. 3.
Grant doesn’t have the ability to get open on deeper routes, so I think he’ll need to be primarily a slot-type guy working underneath patterns. The Raiders already have a franchise receiver (Antonio Brown) and an above-average deep threat (Tyrell Williams), so I don’t envision Grant being a big part of that offense. I’m not sure that he’s even much of an upgrade over Seth Roberts.
Grant landed in a plum spot last year, starting opposite T.Y. Hilton in Indianapolis, and couldn’t do anything with it. The Colts didn’t do much with him and later started relying more on a pair of other lesser receivers: Dontrelle Inman (who joined the team during the season) and Chester Rogers. Rogers is a better slot receiver than Grant.
Grant last year caught only 35 passes for 334 yards and 1 TD, averaging only 9.5 yards per catch. The previous season he caught 45 passes for 573 yards and 4 TDs with Washington. Both of the teams that have had him the last two years haven’t really been interested in bringing him. (Note that with both of those teams, Grant was working with a capable quarterback -- Kirk Cousins and Andrew Luck.)
Reports indicate it’s a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. That makes sense. He’s a lesser guy, and it’s not even certain he’ll be their No. 3.
Factoring in incompletions, Grant averaged 6.4 yards per pass play last year. Of the 83 wide receivers with at least 50 targets, only seven finished with lower averages. Best I can offer on Grant’s behalf is that there are three others that averaged under 7 yards per target last year who most would agree have some receiving potential – Stefon Diggs, Larry Fitzgerald and Jarvis Landry.
| RECEIVERS / YARDS PER TARGET | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Avg |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 70 | 57 | 965 | 10 | 13.8 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 138 | 86 | 1524 | 8 | 11.0 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 137 | 87 | 1479 | 12 | 10.8 |
| Rashard Higgins, Clev. | 53 | 39 | 572 | 4 | 10.8 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 120 | 76 | 1270 | 6 | 10.6 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 74 | 41 | 774 | 4 | 10.5 |
| Josh Gordon, 2 tms | 71 | 41 | 737 | 4 | 10.4 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 55 | 40 | 566 | 6 | 10.3 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 117 | 80 | 1204 | 5 | 10.3 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 66 | 43 | 664 | 10 | 10.1 |
| Tyrell Williams, LAC | 65 | 41 | 653 | 5 | 10.0 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 170 | 113 | 1677 | 8 | 9.9 |
| Chris Hogan, N.E. | 55 | 35 | 532 | 3 | 9.7 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 163 | 115 | 1572 | 11 | 9.6 |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 82 | 55 | 788 | 2 | 9.6 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 147 | 125 | 1405 | 9 | 9.6 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 108 | 76 | 1028 | 7 | 9.5 |
| Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 55 | 40 | 519 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Amari Cooper, 2 tms | 107 | 75 | 1005 | 7 | 9.4 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 130 | 86 | 1219 | 6 | 9.4 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 92 | 65 | 843 | 6 | 9.2 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 77 | 46 | 694 | 6 | 9.0 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 153 | 113 | 1373 | 9 | 9.0 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 119 | 70 | 1063 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 92 | 64 | 821 | 10 | 8.9 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 94 | 66 | 838 | 4 | 8.9 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 95 | 59 | 842 | 7 | 8.9 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 98 | 71 | 868 | 4 | 8.9 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 136 | 97 | 1196 | 6 | 8.8 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 68 | 43 | 590 | 3 | 8.7 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 64 | 37 | 553 | 6 | 8.6 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 166 | 111 | 1426 | 7 | 8.6 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 124 | 77 | 1052 | 6 | 8.5 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 73 | 50 | 618 | 5 | 8.5 |
| Jordy Nelson, Oak. | 88 | 63 | 739 | 3 | 8.4 |
| David Moore, Sea. | 53 | 26 | 445 | 5 | 8.4 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 84 | 42 | 704 | 4 | 8.4 |
| Taywan Taylor, Ten. | 56 | 37 | 466 | 1 | 8.3 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 169 | 111 | 1386 | 13 | 8.2 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 62 | 35 | 508 | 5 | 8.2 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 107 | 66 | 872 | 4 | 8.1 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 94 | 55 | 754 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 94 | 50 | 752 | 6 | 8.0 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 73 | 38 | 581 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 112 | 65 | 891 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 108 | 74 | 850 | 6 | 7.9 |
| Anthony Miller, Chi. | 54 | 33 | 423 | 7 | 7.8 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 105 | 76 | 816 | 5 | 7.8 |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 87 | 65 | 672 | 3 | 7.7 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 168 | 104 | 1297 | 15 | 7.7 |
| Seth Roberts, Oak. | 64 | 45 | 494 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Demaryius Thomas, 2 tms | 89 | 59 | 677 | 5 | 7.6 |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 65 | 39 | 494 | 5 | 7.6 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 97 | 64 | 736 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Josh Reynolds, LAR | 53 | 29 | 402 | 5 | 7.6 |
| Jarius Wright, Car. | 59 | 43 | 447 | 1 | 7.6 |
| Donte Moncrief, Jac. | 89 | 48 | 668 | 3 | 7.5 |
| Michael Gallup, Dall. | 68 | 33 | 507 | 2 | 7.5 |
| Antonio Callaway, Clev. | 79 | 43 | 586 | 5 | 7.4 |
| Taylor Gabriel, Chi. | 93 | 67 | 688 | 2 | 7.4 |
| Kendrick Bourne, S.F. | 66 | 42 | 487 | 4 | 7.4 |
| John Brown, Balt. | 97 | 42 | 715 | 5 | 7.4 |
| Danny Amendola, Mia. | 79 | 59 | 575 | 1 | 7.3 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 101 | 66 | 717 | 5 | 7.1 |
| Golden Tate, 2 tms | 113 | 74 | 795 | 4 | 7.0 |
| Keelan Cole, Jac. | 70 | 38 | 491 | 1 | 7.0 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 79 | 44 | 549 | 4 | 6.9 |
| Willie Snead, Balt. | 95 | 62 | 651 | 1 | 6.9 |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 149 | 102 | 1021 | 9 | 6.9 |
| Josh Doctson, Was. | 78 | 44 | 532 | 2 | 6.8 |
| Chester Rogers, Ind. | 72 | 53 | 485 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Quincy Enunwa, NYJ | 68 | 38 | 449 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 112 | 69 | 734 | 6 | 6.6 |
| Jarvis Landry, Clev. | 149 | 81 | 976 | 4 | 6.6 |
| Chris Conley, K.C. | 52 | 32 | 334 | 5 | 6.4 |
| Ryan Grant, Ind. | 52 | 35 | 334 | 1 | 6.4 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 102 | 56 | 652 | 7 | 6.4 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 61 | 38 | 383 | 2 | 6.3 |
| Michael Crabtree, Balt. | 100 | 54 | 607 | 3 | 6.1 |
| Laquon Treadwell, Min. | 53 | 35 | 302 | 1 | 5.7 |
| Kelvin Benjamin, 2 tms | 67 | 25 | 380 | 1 | 5.7 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 76 | 37 | 371 | 1 | 4.9 |
| John Ross, Cin. | 58 | 21 | 210 | 7 | 3.6 |
—Ian Allan