Small receiver needs to excel to make roster
Jaydon Mickens would like to make the Raiders’ roster. That’s why he keeps coming to practice
Unfortunately, no matter what the quicktwitch, 5-foot-10 receiver does in training camp, the odds are tall against him.
Oakland has established players in Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Seth Roberts and Cordarrelle Patterson, plus second-year man Johnny Holton is one of the few proven special-teams performers back from last season. That’s five receivers. (And the Raiders might carry four tight ends.)
So one can see why there was the tiniest hint of exasperation when Mickens was asked what he needs to do to make the season-opening roster.
“Basically, everything I have been doing,” Mickens said. “Last year, it was a numbers game. We had five guys fighting for one spot. I just have to keep trying to get noticed every day. Even if I am not getting the ball, get open. If you’re not running routes, block.
“Just gotta keep my head down and keep grinding away”
Mickens didn’t make the squad a year ago, signing out of Washington as an undrafted free agent. He looks better at this year’s camp, getting most of the snaps at the secondor third-team slot position and showing his speed and elusiveness on kick returns.
(One would think with Taiwan Jones gone, Mickens would be the fastest man on the roster, but he said that Cooper actually beat Jones in a race last month.)
“I think I am the fastest guy on the team, but we have a lot of fast guys. We have one of the fastest teams in the league. ... Speed and quickness, I wouldn’t be here without” them.
Mickens thinks with hard work, and picking the brains of Crabtree and Cooper, he one day can be an “Antonio Brown-type player.” (They are both 5-10, with Brown 6 pounds heavier at 181 pounds.)
For now, Mickens has his sights set a little lower, and he is in the same boat as K.J. Brent, a 6-3 receiver from Wake Forest who also spent last year on the practice squad. Different type players, both frantically trying to stay on a roster bubble that might pop in a few weeks.
“They’ve been really strong throughout this offseason,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “... It’s a little different in how they do it. Jaydon, smaller, quicker guy with some return ability and K.J., a bigger guy and able to get in there and do more blocking, the dirty work we ask our receivers to do. They’re both doing a great job. They’re both in the mix.”
They both have worked hard on their route-running — to be “an efficient, professional route runner,” Mickens said — and using leverage.
“I am just one pawn on this big chessboard that is our offense,” Mickens said, “so I have to make sure that I am moving forward and standing out. Ultimately, if I win, we win.”
Also, cornerbacks coach Rod Woodson and teammates told Mickens to work on his punt returns this offseason, and he did.
“They gave me a little challenge, because they want to see me out there,” Mickens said. “They want to see me succeed. That’s the kind of team we have, always uplifting each other, from the practicesquad player to the vets. With that type of family feel, you can only go up.”