The Raiders will trade former third-round pick Bryan Edwards to Atlanta, according to Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Raiders will send the third-year receiver and a future seventh-round pick in exchange for a future fifth-round pick. After spending just two seasons in Las Vegas and with the installation of a new regime, Edwards has a new home in Atlanta.
Edwards, 23, never got it going as a Raider despite receiving high draft capital (Edwards was drafted with the 81st overall pick in 2020). He was nearly invisible as a rookie with an abysmal 11 catches for 193 yards and a touchdown, but did take a significant step forward in his 2021 campaign to the tune of 34 catches for 571 yards and three touchdowns, including a couple of signature moments in clutch situations as the Raiders fought their way to their first playoff berth since 2016.
Edwards will have a big opportunity to continue his development in Atlanta, as the Falcons have one of the weakest wide receiver rooms in the NFL. But that is not to say that they are short on pass-catchers, as their offense features one of the game’s brightest young stars in TE Kyle Pitts. The team also just drafted USC WR Drake London with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and journeyman RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson is back for another year to reprise his do-it-all role in that offense. Leading the way for that set of weapons will be former Raiders QB Marcus Mariota, who signed with Atlanta in the offseason and played with Edwards for the same two seasons as Raiders.
For the Raiders, their wide receiver room has undergone a makeover this offseason. The team added arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL in Davante Adams and added a group of receivers in free agency to fill out the depth chart, including former Chiefs WR DeMarcus Robinson, and in recent days, veteran WR Keelan Cole. Even with the return of WR Hunter Renfrow and TE Darren Waller, the Raiders group of pass-catchers will look very different in 2022 after the trade of Bryan Edwards.
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