When pressed, Gruden wouldn’t specify whether Doctson’s absence was injury-related.

Doctson has caught just 5 of 13 targets this season for 48 yards. He drew a pair of pass-interference calls in the win against the Green Bay Packers that were the equivalent of a big play, but more is expected of the 2016 No. 22 overall pick. The 25-year-old had 35 receptions for 502 yards and six touchdowns in 2017 and is currently lagging behind in all those categories.

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“I think, statistically, it’s not where he wants to be, but I think he’s getting better,” Gruden said. “We are 2-1, that’s the bottom line. We’ve been pretty productive on offense. Sometimes he’ll be asked to do more, make some plays, hopefully it will be this week, but I think he’ll make plenty of plays for us by the time the season is over.”

There’s been a curiosity since the arrival of quarterback Alex Smith about whether Doctson and his new starting quarterback would mesh. Doctson is a big, 6-foot-2, 202-pound receiver who excels in jump-ball situations. Smith, however, has been risk-averse during his career and doesn’t throw up a lot of 50-50 balls. He seems to click with better route-runners and is one of the best in the league working the short and intermediate passing game.

The two have only played three games together, so there’s plenty of time for the relationship to grow and the pair to find a groove. Gruden said he believes they’ll eventually take advantage of more red-zone opportunities, where Doctson can use that size.

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“Yeah, we tried a couple [red-zone attempts]," Gruden said. “We tried to fade it to him against Indy and we overthrew him out of the back of the end zone. Then we had one where they held him I think last week against Green Bay, where he got the [pass interference], which is good. He got us first and goal at the one and Adrian [Peterson] took it in.

"I think the more attempts we get, the more opportunities he will see.”