» RAIDERS WANT MORE FROM TIGHT ENDS

ALAMEDA — The Oakland Raiders showed off a new wrinkle in their offense on the opening drive of their second preseason game.

A passing game that had been predicated on getting the ball into the hands of the pair of 1,000-yard receivers on the outside in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree suddenly started using some big options in the middle of the field.

Derek Carr found free agent tight end Jared Cook on his first drop back of the game against the Los Angeles Rams for a 16-yard gain and then capped the drive by threading a 19-yard pass into the hands of blocking tight end Lee Smith for a touchdown.

“Being able to have those guys do everything really helps our team and puts stress on the defense so they can’t just sit and play one coverage and take away everything,” Carr said Tuesday. “I hope it’s a sign of things that continue because that will help those other two outside.”

Throw in Clive Walford’s three catches in the opener and the Raiders have an aspect of the offense that was missing in 2016. Oakland didn’t get much production from the tight end position at all last season, ranking 28th in catches (57) and 30th in yards receiving (580).

The lack of production from that group led to the decision to target Cook in free agency. New offensive coordinator Todd Downing and Carr gave Cook an aggressive recruiting pitch that promised heavy use of tight ends.

“It is a tight end-friendly offense,” Cook said. “The way the quarterback reads the plays, how they line me up, how they use the tight ends. I think it will be important for me to take a big step in my career.”

Cook had only 30 receptions last season in Green Bay but did deliver the biggest catch of the year for the Packers when his acrobatic 36-yard catch set up the game-winning field goal in a playoff win at Dallas.

The Raiders hope to get those kinds of plays from Cook.

“He’s a guy that creates the biggest mismatches because safeties typically aren’t fast enough and good enough to cover guys,” Carr said. “Linebackers are too slow. You can’t put a corner on him because he could just muscle you out of the way”