ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Remember when Clive Walford was going to be a trustworthy target for Derek Carr, an athletic and physical specimen at tight end who would make the Oakland Raiders' offense all the more dangerous?
Walford remembers, too, as it was supposed to happen from Week 1 this season and take off from there. That he is starting to materialize now for a 9-2 team sitting in first place in AFC West is but a bonus. Especially with how he showed up in Sunday’s 35-32 comeback defeat of the Carolina Panthers, with three catches for 43 yards, including an acrobatic 12-yard touchdown reception in the back of the end zone.