Silver And Black Pride
Is the veteran’s first 1,000-yard season enough to earn the top spot in the division?
After diving into the quarterbacks and running backs recently, it’s time to take a look at the wide receivers in Silver and Black Pride’s AFC West summer position rankings to see how the Las Vegas Raiders’ pass catchers stack up against the rest of the competition.
The Raiders have an interesting collection of receivers heading into the 2025 season, with Jakobi Meyers leading the position group. Meyers is coming off a career year, logging 1,000 yards for the first time. But, is that good enough to earn a spot in the top five or be the top wideout in the division? And will any of Las Vegas’ young wideouts crack the list?
2024 Stats: 81 catches, 1,081 yards, 8 TDs
While he certainly isn’t in the elite tier of NFL wide receivers, Sutton is one of the more underappreciated receivers in the league. Despite shaky quarterback play during the majority of his time in Denver, the SMU product has had at least 700 yards in six out of seven seasons, with the lone outlier being 2020 when he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. So, it should be no surprise that Sutton recorded his second 1,000-yard campaign with Bo Nix at the helm in 2024. On top of that, Sutton continues to be one of the best contested catch threats in the NFL, ranking tied for third among all wideouts with 20 contested catches last year, per Pro Football Focus.
2024 Stats: 82 catches, 1,149 yards, 7 TDs
McConkey could easily take over as the top AFC West wide receiver with another strong performance in year two. The Georgia product was one of the most productive rookie wide receivers in last year’s draft class, finishing third in receptions and yards, and tied for fourth in touchdowns. Additionally, he was one of the most efficient receivers in the NFL last season, ranking ninth with 2.38 yards per route run, according to Pro Football Focus. The sample size from McConkey is just too small right now for him to be the top receiver in the division, but again, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him climb to the No. 1 spot this year.
2024 Stats: 87 catches, 1,027 yards, 4 TDs
Similar to Sutton, Meyers is one of the more underappreciated wide receivers in the league through no fault of his own, as he’s dealt with subpar quarterback play for the majority of his career. Last year was a great example of that with the Raiders using three different starting quarterbacks: Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder. However, the six-year veteran had a career year with his first 1,000-yard campaign and a personal best in receptions despite the team’s underwhelming trio of signal callers. On top of that, Meyers was the only receiver in the...
