After a successful Week 6 bye, the Raiders will take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 7.
To win that game, Oakland is going to need to play its best game of the season to improve to 4-2. For that to happen, the Raiders will need better performances from a few key players.
Here are three players who need to improve next week against the Packers:
WR Hunter Renfrow
The Raiders should get No. 1 receiver Tyrell Williams back after he missed the team’s Week 5 game, but they need more out of the rest of the unit. One player that needs to improve is slot receiver Hunter Renfrow.
Through five weeks, Renfrow has seen 23 targets but has only been able to convert them into 12 receptions for 101 yards and no touchdowns. While he’s never going to be a big-play receiver, he needs to be a reliable option in the middle of the field. Renfrow has too many drops, and that can’t happen for a player like him.
If Oakland wants to upset the Packers this week, it will need a much bigger game from Renfrow. Look for the former Clemson receiver to bounce back in Week 7.
LT Kolton Miller
After a rough rookie season, Miller has been much better in his second year. However, he still hasn’t performed like a top-15 pick. In Week 7, Miller will face one of the better pass-rush tandems in the NFL in Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith.
Oakland will surely want to get the ball out of Derek Carr’s hand quickly, but it will need Miller to hold up on longer developing plays and in the run game. Miller has the athleticism and the movement skills to stay in front of these two players, but their power could get the best of the Raiders’ left tackle.
If Miller can survive against Smith and Smith, Oakland should have no problem moving the ball up and down the field against Green Bay’s offense. Keep a close eye on the Raiders’ left tackle in this contest.
DE Clelin Ferrell
After missing Week 5 with a concussion, the expectation is that No. 4 overall pick Clelin Ferrell should return to the field in Week 7. With Arden Key likely out for the next few weeks due to a knee injury, the team is going to need Ferrell to play a ton of snaps in his spot.
It hasn’t been great for Ferrell, who has been one of the lowest-graded first-round picks, according to Pro Football Focus. Oakland needs the first-round pick to get pressure on Rodgers to help slow down the Packers’ offense.
Expect the former Clemson defensive end to see somewhere between 50-60 percent of the team’s snaps this week in a must-win game against Green Bay.
