Darren Waller ties NFL record and Josh Jacobs sets Raiders franchise mark over first four games of season

Sunday the Raiders got their second game of the season and they did so with the help of two of their more exciting young players. How exciting have the seasons for running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller been? Record exciting.

First up was Darren Waller, who had four catches in the first half to surpass 30 for the season. That put him in elite company with the likes of Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, Zach Ertz, and Jordan Cameron. He joined them as the only tight ends in NFL history to have at least 30 catches in the first four games of a season. But Waller wasn’t done.

By the end of the game, he had reached 33 catches which tied Gates for the most catches by a tight end in the first four games of a season in NFL history. Gates set the mark in 2007, so it’s stood for some time. Cameron hit 30 in 2013, Graham hit 32 in 2014, and Ertz reached 31 last season. But none could catch Gates. Waller just did.

Waller also tied a franchise mark at any position. Tim Brown is the only other Raiders player to record 33 receptions in the first four games of a season.

As for Jacobs, he set a new Raiders rookie record for most rushing yards in his first four games. His 79 yards Sunday put him at 307 yards on the season, surpassing Darren McFadden’s rookie franchise mark of 272 yards over his first four games in 2008.

Tyrell Williams joined rarified Raiders air. He has notched a touchdown in each of the Raiders first four games this season, a feat that has only been accomplished once before in Raiders history when Mervyn Fernandez began the 1989 season with five straight games with a touchdown. So, even a TD next week for Williams wouldn’t surpass Fernandez’s streak.

Most importantly, though, these marks were set in a win.