Did Arizona Give the Raiders a Blueprint for Derwin James?

RAIDERS VS. CHARGERS PREVIEW

The Raiders are 1-0, the Chargers are coming off a surprising Week 1 loss, and now it’s time for the first AFC West test of the Klint Kubiak era. CBS Los Angeles sports anchor and Chargers Weekly podcast host Chris Hayre joined me to break down what actually went wrong for Justin Herbert, Mike McDaniel and the Chargers against Arizona, which of those problems could carry over into Week 2 and where the Raiders may have opportunities to attack.

MAYER A MISMATCH?

Derwin James is a hell of a player, but this week I’ve been wondering if the Raiders can go after him. The reason I ask is because he — and the Chargers as a whole — struggled in Week 1 against Trey McBride and the Cardinals.

Now, before we go any further, I need to make it clear that I know Trey McBride is currently one of the better tight ends in the league and that Michael Mayer, even though he just got paid a top-four salary for a tight end, is not Trey McBride right now. But tight ends are so in vogue because they’re such a mismatch, and I think there’s a shot the Raiders see what McBride did against James and try to emulate it.

According to Next Gen Stats, Derwin James was targeted 20% of the time against the Cardinals in Week 1, which is tied for the sixth-highest single-game rate of his career. His five receptions conceded were also tied for the third most of his career. Of those five catches he allowed, four of them — and a touchdown — went to McBride. See the graphic below from Next Gen Stats for the full picture of McBride’s day at the office against Derwin and the Chargers’ defense.

For comparison’s sake, McBride ran 60% of his routes from the slot in Week 1, compared to Mayer, who ran just 8.3% of his routes from the slot against Miami, according to Sumer Sports. That’s a massive difference, and I’m aware that this comparison is more realistic between Brock Bowers and McBride than Mayer. But we’re not expecting to see Brock out there this week, so we’ve got to work with the guys who are.

Mayer is an inline tight end. It’s clear Kubiak and company know that, too, evidenced by the fact that 83.3% of his routes were run from the traditional inline Y position. So, I’m not expecting some massive increase in the number of routes he runs from the slot this week against the Chargers, and particularly Derwin James. But I do wonder if we see that number increase a bit.

Even though Mayer doesn’t have the same kind of speed as McBride, he’s got about 10 pounds on him and could give Derwin problems over the middle. Look at the map of McBride’s routes above and tell me Mayer can’t do most of that. After all, it’s not like Kirk is going to be slinging it over 10 yards at a crazy-high rate. Instead, I think a good move for the Raiders would be to split Mayer out a bit more and see if he can play a little basketball and box Derwin out, if you will. At the very least, he could be a real weapon with that in the red zone.

Another guy to watch in regard to all of this is Jack Bech. He’s more of a fit for that power-slot kind of role we’re talking about here anyway, and maybe we see the Raiders lean on him a bit more in those situations.

Either way, I’m really interested to see how the Raiders go about attacking Derwin James after he had his share of issues in Week 1, albeit against one of the better guys in the league at his position. Still, it’s something that bears watching Sunday.

REQUIRED READING

I get it, I link to The Athletic A LOT, but they’ve got a great staff and consistently crank out great content. Sam Warren is new to the Raiders beat this season, and he’s been crushing it.

I’ve been singing the praises of Tyler Linderbaum since the opener and raving about how he somehow picked up that stunt on the Bech touchdown (pictured above) when it looked like he was too far out of position to recover. This week, Sam caught up with Tyler and his teammates to dive into that play and some of his other top plays from Week 1.

This is most definitely Required Reading.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

WHY THIS NEW RAIDERS OFFENSE IS SO HARD TO DEFEND

If you missed our breakdown earlier this week, this is a great one to go back and watch because the numbers from Week 1 show just how different Klint Kubiak’s Raiders offense already looks. Ryan Hoag and I dive into the Raiders’ massive jump in 21 personnel, their use of condensed formations and why those two things, paired with the running game, can put stress on opposing defenses. We also explain why heavy personnel is making a comeback across the NFL, how Kubiak is tailoring his offense to the strengths of this roster and what it could mean for Ashton Jeanty and the Raiders’ backs moving forward. Plus, we hit the latest on Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby and turn the page to some early things to watch against Justin Herbert and the Chargers.

FANSHOTZ FRIDAY

“FanShotz Friday”

By now, you have seen the phenomenal photos we’ve been using in many of our newsletters. They’re some of the best shots you’ll find of your favorite team, captured through the lens of our friend Arnie Bazemore of Fanshotz.com. Every Friday, we’ll feature Arnie’s favorite Raiders shot of the week that he captures at practice or on game day.

Arnie did it again — another killer shot. This week, we’re featuring the picture he snagged of Ashton on that somersault tackle after he tried to hurdle a Dolphins defender.

One heck of a grab by our guy Arnie, and a hell of a run — and day — for Ashton, too.

Check out Arnie’s work at his site linked above and reach out if you’re interested in working with him. He’s a great guy and has been so supportive of me over the years when I was at NBC here in Vegas, and he’s come along for the ride with Silver & Black Sports Network, too.

WHAT’S NEXT?

recap all of his picks from Week 1 and then take a look at what the betting world is telling us about this Week 2 matchup between the Raiders and Chargers. Keep an eye out for that pod dropping later this afternoon.

After that, we’ll catch you in LA! We’re heading out to SoCal for the Raiders’ Week 2 matchup with the Chargers, so make sure you tune in after the game to catch Ryan and me live for our postgame breakdown after I wrap up interviews with the Raiders in the locker room.

Catch ya next time,