Raiders’ Hunter Renfrow expecting more in year 2

Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow didn’t really have any expectations for his rookie season coming out of Clemson. He just knew it wasn’t going the way he wanted.

So Renfrow took some time during the bye week in early October to return home to South Carolina and do some thinking in one of his favorite sanctuaries.

“I went hunting,” he said after a training camp practice Tuesday at the team’s facility in Henderson. “To be able to sit in a tree stand and just sit back and think about things (was helpful).”

The results didn’t show up right away. Renfrow, who had averaged 2.4 catches for 20.2 yards over his first five NFL contests, posted similar numbers with two catches for 14 yards the following week against Green Bay.

But it felt different. “I didn’t have a great statistical game, but something clicked for me, and I just felt a lot more comfortable,” he said.

Success would soon follow. Renfrow caught four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown the following week in Houston and averaged five receptions for 70 yards over the final seven games despite missing a month during that time because of injury. He added four touchdowns over that span and concluded his breakout season with consecutive 100-yard games.

“I really didn’t have many expectations,” he said. “I just wanted to be the best version of myself, but through the first half of the season, it was bad. I was just worried about lining up right and knowing what to do. I didn’t even think about how to get it done. As the season progressed, I got more comfortable and kind of figured out I had to do it my way.”

It was also helpful to develop a deeper bond with the guy throwing him the ball. Renfrow built a close relationship with quarterback Derek Carr, a friendship that has helped him feel even more comfortable entering his sophomore season in the NFL.

“I’m not scared to ask him a question anymore,” Renfrow said. “I’ll joke with him and give him a hard time. Last year he was like the teacher. I wasn’t going to mess with the principal. But it’s been cool just to have a friend like that. It’s been a lot of fun. It really has.

“There’s nobody else in the world I’d rather have. He has what it takes. It’s going to be awesome to go prove that this year.”

The new weapons will help. First-round draft pick Henry Ruggs brings elite speed to help take the top off the defense, and rookie Bryan Edwards adds a physical element. Those additions, combined with the continued development of tight end Darren Waller, the return of Tyrell Williams to a more comfortable role and all the talent in the backfield, should make Renfrow an even more difficult cover for opposing defenses.

He spent a great deal of time with Carr over the offseason further strengthening the chemistry that made “Third-and-Renfrow” such an effective strategy last year.

“The game has slowed down so much for me where I can kind of see what he’s seeing a bit,” the 24-year-old said.

Things slowed down a bit off the field as well. Renfrow said last summer was chaotic between winning the national championship, playing in the Senior Bowl, getting married and drafted and then moving across the country to play in Oakland, where he was greeted with the “Hard Knocks” cameras in training camp.

“Everything was just happening,” he said. “This year, I just really wanted to be able to visually plan the season out, know what to expect and just get better.”

He used this strange pandemic-driven offseason of separation to focus on strengthening his core, a mission he feels he accomplished after breaking a rib last season. Renfrow also studied some of what he did right and some of what he did wrong last year in emerging as Carr’s security blanket.

Renfrow also decided to start a family with his wife, Camilla, who is due with their first child in early 2021.

He said they planned for the baby to be born just after the Super Bowl, a game he hopes to play in this season.

“I got a dog right after we won the national championship at Clemson,” he said. “Now we’re getting a kid right after, hopefully, the Super Bowl this year. We just couldn’t be more excited and thankful.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.