Raiders' OC Lombardi Talks New WRs, Adding Speed

Las Vegas Raiders Offensive Coordinator Mick Lombardi is heading into his second season with the team after coming to the Silver and Black from the New England Patriots with Coach Josh McDaniels.

Lombardi is coming into the 2023 season with a new quarterback and a group of new wide receivers at his disposal, looking to build off a 2022 season where the team was in the top half of the league in points per game and yards per game.

Lombardi spoke with reporters at a mandatory minicamp on Wednesday with several new pieces in place for his offense. He covered many topics, including his excitement about the aforementioned wide receiver group.

“Those guys all work very, very hard,” Lombardi said. ”They all came here on their visit and they expressed how much they love football, and how much they want to be in a culture that kind of has a hard-nosed attitude, preaches hard work, dependability, accountability. I think all those guys have shown up every day to do that, and that’s been the most encouraging part, because obviously, every year in free agency, you lose guys, you gain guys, but if you can gain good people, that’s really the most important thing. I think we did that at the receiver position.”

In 2022, the Raiders wide receiver group was led by Davante Adams, who was ninth in the NFL in receiving yards and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns. In free agency, they lost Mack Hollins, who was second on the team in receiving yards but replaced him with a similar-sized player in Cam Sims.

A common theme with the new team receivers is speed, which Lombardi said the team wanted to improve.

“I think everybody’s looking to get faster, “ Lombardi said. “So I mean, definitely. Obviously we preach speed, toughness, competitiveness, and all those things, so for sure, any position, we’re looking to improve our skill set, whatever way it may be.”

The Raiders added wide receivers with different skill sets, and their passing game will look much different from last year with all the new faces, players Lombardi is excited about.

OTA Offseason workouts: June 12-15

Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8

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