The Oakland Raiders acquired Todd Watkins off of waivers after a previous stint with the Arizona Cardinals and later the Atlanta Falcons. They Brigham Young graduate entered the NFL as a promising young prospect possessing prototypical physical numbers at 6-feet 2 inches and 190 pounds.

With a combination of size and speed Watkins appeared destined to succeed in the NFL. The Raiders have been fascinated with his physical tools and attempted to sign Watkins after being cut by the Cardinals. The physical attributes have yet to lend themselves to production in the games that count, but Watkins is hopeful his time is now.

Watkins has yet to play in a regular season NFL game and will look to compete for a roster spot on Lane Kiffin’s squad behind anticipated regulars; Javon Walker, Ronald Curry and Drew Carter. Watkins hopes to leverage his experience over the last three seasons in elevating his game to another level.

Watkins talked during mini-camp about how playing for his third team and in his fourth offense during his brief career has helped him grow and his “maturity level is a lot higher than it was.” With a heightened level of maturity, a willingness to work hard and rare physical attributes Watkins hopes to find some stability as a regular with the Raiders.

Johnnie Lee Higgins was drafted by the Raiders in the third round of the 2007 NFL Entry Draft as a tremendous athlete with a history of solid production and higher expectations. The Raiders felt highly enough of Higgins to make him a first day draft choice in the hopes he would solidify the slot position and provide a spark to listless special teams return and coverage units.

Higgins saw action is every game during 2007, even starting in two, and was used on punt returns, special teams coverage and as a wide receiver. Higgins’ athleticism and versatility allowed him to garner substantial playing time during his rookie campaign. The Raiders have high expectations of Higgins coming into his second season and plan to again utilize his talents in many different ways.

Raiders Head Coach, Lane Kiffin spoke during training camp about Higgins progress and articulated that he was pleased with how much physically stronger Higgins is this off-season. Kiffin likened Higgins last year to the physicality of a college freshman and indicated this as a contributing factor to the lack of overall production from him as a rookie. The Raiders approach this off-season with Higgins is similar to last year, only with higher expectations.

“The thing with Johnnie right now is we’re running him into the ground.”

During mini-camp Higgins could be seen on special teams returning kicks and punts, in coverage and even in the “gunner” role on kick coverage schemes. He has lined up as a wide receiver in the slot as well as on the outside spending substantial time catching deep balls. Higgins will look to contribute to the team with a sizeable increase in production during his second season.