Role: Wide Receivers Coach
Previous Role: Wide Receivers Coach
Previous Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Age: 49
The Raiders officially hired wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni on Wednesday, and the longtime NFL assistant will bring a long list of development, high end receivers, and NFL pedigree to the Raiders receiver room. The Raiders have three young receivers that will require key development, and Azzanni will be tasked with developing them, a rookie, and likely another free agent as well.
Experience
The 49 year old started his career at Valparaiso from 1999-2000 before joining Bowling Green from 2001-2006 as a GA and receivers coach. Azzanni then moved to Central Michigan in 2007 where he stayed till 2009 as a receivers coach, then Florida in 2010 as a WR coach and pass game coordinator, and Western Kentucky in 2011 as the OC. Azzanni then worked for Wisconsin in 2013-2016 as a WR coach and pass game coordinator after Wisconsin in 2012. He made the jump to the NFL in 2017 with the Bears as their receivers coach, the Broncos from 2018-2022, Jets in 2023, and Steelers from 2024-2025.
*I won’t be touching on experience more than a decade old, for any of these breakdowns unless it’s a very key thing to note*
Central Michigan (2007-2009)
Azzanni would work to develop 5x All-Pro and 7x Pro Bowler Antonio Brown at Central Michigan where Brown would record 305 receptions, 3199 yards, and 22 touchdowns through three seasons with Azzanni as his WR coach.
Tennessee (2013-2016)
Azzanni recruited and developed 2017 Bengals 4th rounder Josh Malone & 2020 49ers WR Jauan Jennings at Tennessee. Jennings would record 54 receptions, 729 yards, and 7 TD in his first two seasons with Azzanni and Malone 104 receptions, 1608 yards, and 14 touchdowns in his three seasons. Additionally, he would help recruit Josh Palmer, Ty Chandler, and Marquez Callaway but never coach them as he left for the NFL. He also spent 2015 & 2016 as the Volunteers pass game coordinator where they ranked 92nd in 2015 and 62nd in 2016.
Chicago Bears (2017)
In his first season as the Bears WR coach, Kendall Wright logged 59 receptions, 615 yards, and a touchdown with Josh Bellamy 24 receptions, 376 yards, and a touchdown. Dontrelle Ingram also added 23 receptions, 334 yards, and a touchdown while Deonte Thompson added 11 receptions, 125 yards, and a touchdown. Overall the Bears offense ranked 32nd in the NFL with just 13 passing touchdowns. Wright would not record another NFL game after 2017 and Ingram just 648 yards in his next 26 games. Bellamy’s 376 yards in 2017 were a career high and he logged just 127 yards in the next 23 games before retiring in 2020.
Denver Broncos (2018-2022)
Azzanni joined the Broncos, and in his first season saw Emmanuel Sanders log 868 yards, 71 receptions, and four touchdowns while Courtland Sutton posted 42 receptions, 704 yards, and 4 touchdowns as a rookie. Sanders’ 2018 production was his most since 2016 and the highest yardage he recorded for the remainder of his career in San Francisco, New Orleans, and Buffalo. Tim Patrick also added 23 receptions, 315 yards, and a touchdown as a rookie. The Broncos also saw positive impact from Demaryius Thomas & DaeSean Hamilton. 2019 saw Courtland Sutton post a career high in yards (1112) and his second most receptions with 72. Additionally, he’d make his first of two Pro Bowls. Tim Patrick would add 218 yards and 16 receptions in 8 games. DaeSean Hamilton added 28 receptions, 297 yards, and 2 touchdowns. In 2020, the Broncos drafted rookie Jerry Jeudy who in three seasons with Azzanni would post 157 receptions, 2295 yards, and 9 touchdowns while posting the 2nd, and third most yards of his career, a career high in touchdowns, and the 2nd most receptions of his career. Additionally, Jeudy saw his 10 drops in 2020 drop to 1 in 2021 and 5 in 2022, the two lowest marks of his career. Tim Patrick added 742 yards and 6 touchdowns with rookie KJ Hamler adding another 30 receptions, 381 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Hamler would record 42 receptions, 620 yards, and 3 touchdowns in three seasons, and has not recorded an NFL reception since.
Jeudy led rookie WR’s in EPA/target and was 12th in the NFL overall. Additionally, Jeudy ranked 8th in separation, while Sutton ranked top 30 in both separation & EPA/target in both 2018 and 2019. 2021 would see Sutton bounce back from injury with 58 receptions, 776 yards, and 2 touchdowns with Patrick posting 734 yards and 5 TD. Patrick ranked 33rd in EPA/target which was the 2nd time in his career he was inside the top 30th. 2022 continued to be strong for Azzanni and the Broncos receivers with Jeudy logging 972 yards and 6 touchdowns, a near career season and he also ranked top 20 in separation and 32nd in EPA/target.
New York Jets (2023)
Azzanni joined the Jets in 2023 following the firing of Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Rookie Garrett Wilson logged 83 receptions, 1103 yards, and four touchdowns while being named the NFL ROTY as well. His 1103 yards is a career high, and his 83 receptions are the third most in his career. Wilson ranked top 15 in separation and EPA/target, the 3rd rookie WR to do so since 2018 (Jefferson & Chase). Additionally, he’d log just 5 drops, a career low. Allen Lazard posted 23 receptions, 311 yards, and a touchdown while UDFA Xavier Gipson added 21 receptions and 229 yards while posting just 8 receptions, 45 yards, and a touchdown since then.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2024-2025)
Following the struggles in 2023, Azzanni joined the Steelers in 2024 seeing George Pickens post 59 receptions, 900 yards, and three touchdowns along with 15.3 yards/reception. Pickens 6 drops were a career high, though he also ranked 18th in the NFL for EPA/target & 24th in separation through only 14 games. Additionally, Calvin Austin would record a career highs of 36 receptions, 548 yards, and 4 touchdowns while also ranking 12th in separation and 44th in EPA/target. Austin’s 2 drops were a career low, and he’d go on to post 31 receptions, 372 yards, and three touchdowns in 2025 through roughly 200 less snaps. Austin developed into a quality third receiver and a consistent slot option. Van Jefferson posted 24 receptions, 276 yards, and 2 touchdowns the most of his career since 2022. After trading Pickens, the Steelers added DK Metcalf who logged 59 receptions, 850 yards, and 6 TD while also ranking 23rd in EPA/target. The Steelers didn’t see a ton of production from other receivers with Calvin Austin having the 372 yards as noted above, 2nd year receiver Roman Wilson 12 receptions, 166 yards, and 2 touchdowns along with also having production from Adam Thielen, Marques Valdez-Scantling, and Scotty Miller.
Philosophy
Azzanni focuses heavily on blocking, and an emphasis on high effort, lack of mental mistakes which did cause issues in 2025 with the Steelers having a rough go with blocking and penalties at receiver. Azzanni has been noted as being demanded, but players understand his passion and knowledge, which pushes him towards getting the most out of his players. Azzanni focuses his players on the little things, consistently getting strong route runners, high end YAC production, and he’s consistent with producing versatile options at receiver.
Players to Watch, Connections:
Jauan Jennings is slated to hit free agency, and beyond his connections to Klint Kubiak from their time with the 49ers, Jennings and Azzani are close with the former recruiting him to Tennessee. Additionally, free agent Calvin Austin is set to hit free agency, and the Raiders should be interested trying to find a possible slot option and ST player which Austin can contribute. Additionally, Cowboys WR George Pickens is slated to hit free agency, but that’s unlikely with the Cowboys expected to place a franchise tag on the superstar receiver.
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