Clemson WR Hunter Renfrow made the most of his chance last Sunday when the Oakland Raiders took on the Houston Texans and turned in a nice performance.
In last April’s NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders selected two former Clemson Tigers players: DE Clelin Ferrell in round one with the fourth overall pick, and WR Hunter Renfrow in the third round.
Renfrow (5’,10”, 185 pounds) has had a steady year in his first NFL season. He has played in all seven contests, but with only a single start. He had four receptions for 88 yards Sunday on the road against one of the NFL’s best teams with the Houston Texans. Renfrow has the same soft hands that he displayed while with the Tigers and still catches just about everything thrown his way.
The Raiders were faced with a third-and-seven from their own 35-yard line with just three minutes to go in the first quarter. QB Derek Carr launched a dart to Renfrow for an apparent 10-yard gain.
But on the completion, Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson bit on the move that Renfrow made towards the sideline, then had to dive at the ball as he made the catch near the hashmarks. This left only the safety, A.J. Moore, to attempt to make the tackle.
Renfrow shook off the attempted tackle and then nothing but green Astroturf ahead for the young player. Renfrow has deception speed, so not a single Texans player trailing the play was able to catch him.
The Texans would eventually triumph in this game 27-24 behind a familiar Clemson face QB Deshaun Watson. The Raiders are now 3-4-0.
Last year, the Raiders went 4-12-0 and had traded off former Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys and then the other receiver, Jordy Nelson, retired at season’s end. This left voids at the outside receiver position. Oakland then landed Antonio Brown in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he had a tumultuous preseason that culminated with being cut. This still left voids at receiver.
The Raiders signed free agent Tyrell Williams (6’4”, 205 pounds) to a big contract and then worked a trade with the Green Bay Packers to acquire Trevor Davis (6’1”, 188 pounds) for their starting receivers to pair with last year’s draft pick Zay Jones (6’2”, 200 pounds). In the meanwhile, Renfrow was working on becoming the starter at the slot position.
Against the Texans, he got his shot and made the most of it. He was targeted four times in the contest and caught each pass from Carr. This year he has 203 yards on 18 receptions, an 11.3 per catch average, and now an NFL game-scored touchdown football for his mom’s fireplace mantel.