Hunter Renfrow reportedly got the best of one of the top corners in the NFL during the Raiders' joint practice session with the Rams on Wednesday.
We know -- it was hard for us to believe, too. But that's the consensus from those viewing practice in Thousand Oaks, California, where Renfrow was said to have beaten Jalen Ramsey on multiple occasions, sparking plenty of buzz and countless internet memes before the Raiders and Rams even finished their practice.
Renfrow just sees it as a good day at the office and a possible sign of things to come.
"If I can beat Jalen Ramsey, then I can beat anybody in the NFL, because he is one of the best," Renfrow said, via The Athletic. "That's how I approach it. He got me a couple of times, and hopefully tomorrow we make each other better again."
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound former Clemson walk-on has been a productive target in his first two NFL seasons, breaking 600 receiving yards in each campaign. But we typically didn't see Renfrow do this against an elite defensive back, which he did on Wednesday, albeit out of the slot.
"He doesn't get enough credit for how straight-line fast he is," Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said after the Wednesday session. "I don't think his 40 time, I don't know what it was but whatever it was doesn't do it justice. He's fast. He can run. And just as fast as he can go that way, he can go this way."
"There is a lot of guys that can (have) straight-line track speed," Carr continued, "but Hunter, the thing that makes him different, not only that side-to-side speed, is that ... he knows what route he's running, obviously, and he sees the coverage. He knows how it's set up; he knows exactly what I want him to do, and he literally does it every single time."
He set up Ramsey at least a couple of times Wednesday. As the always ready-to-roast internet heated up in the immediate hours following news of Renfrow's one-on-one success, Ramsey vaguely told his side of the story via Twitter, posting "I can't believe that 'y'all' believe half the bs that people say for clicks.. y'all gotta know at this point & do better than that lol" before continuing with more of the same message."
It might not have been Ramsey's man to cover, either, but perhaps a blown assignment on the part of a teammate, or a well-timed playcall. Football is far from something as simple as a game of individual matchups, and it was just one practice. We aren't about to go crown a guy for a couple wins in one-on-ones.
Renfrow does deserve credit, though, for working his way from a Clemson walk-on to a productive target with the Raiders, who seem to believe he's the perfect type of player to fit the culture they're building.
"Be a guy that runs the right route but shred the guy," Carr said, "set him up, understand the coverage. Set that up. Show him what he wants to see and then come across, that kind of stuff. ... The thing I love about (Renfrow) the most is that he sees it just the way I do. I think that is why there is so much trust there when you throw it to him."
Renfrow's 148 career targets tell us that Carr trusts him plenty.
"Jalen is one of, if not the best corner in the NFL," Carr said. "So, I think that gives us a lot of confidence in Hunter. It gives me confidence to know that he can beat good corners.
"Jalen is sticky. I mean tight windows; guys have to separate, and Hunter did a good job against him. … I told Hunter on the bus ride back here, I said it gives me confidence that I can cut it loose even sooner knowing that you are going to fight for me against good corners."
