The Oakland Raiders had a depleted draft, and their salary cap situation prevented many big free-agent splashes. The organization could use a dose of good news, and it got some from fifth-round rookie receiver Juron Criner Tuesday at OTAs.
According to Steve Corkran of the Oakland Tribune, Criner made “at least four head-turning plays during a 20-minute span” during Tuesday’s practice. Criner snatched one ball away from double coverage, snagged a tipped pass amid heavy traffic, reached for an errant throw, and caught a bomb over his shoulder deep down the sideline.
Corkran compared Criner’s Tuesday performance to the show put on by Denarius Moore, a fifth-round pick last year, during 2011 offseason practices.
It should be noted that these are (allegedly) non-contact workouts in shorts and t-shirts. But Criner clearly made a pretty nice first impression.