The Raiders have started the Free Agency period by locking up Nnamdi Asomugha and Tommy Kelly and signing the top safety available in Gibril Wilson.
Not a bad start, but after missing on the chance to even speak with Donte Stallworth or Bernard Berrian where do the Raiders go from here? Is Receiver the biggest need?
After taking a close look at the Raiders roster and assuming the future departure of players like Lamont Jordan, Dominic Rhodes these are the top three spots the Raiders will need to address either through the draft, free agency or through a trade:
1. Offensive Tackle
With the release of Barry Sims, the Raiders' tackles are as follows: Mario Henderson, Cornell Green, Paul McQuistan, and Seth Wand.
Now Paul McQuistan can play Right Tackle or Guard and is a pretty versatile good young lineman but by no means is he a stud yet.
Mario Henderson abilities to play at this level are unknown due to the fact he has never seen the field. It doesn't look good though when he said himself that he wasn't ready to play yet.
Cornell Green and Seth Wand provide weak depth and even though Green started some games last year he should be replaced by McQuistan from here on out.
This area is a major concern and drafting Jake Long from Michigan should be considered. You have to protect JaMarcus and allow him time to throw the ball.
2. Wide Receiver
The Raiders' best receiver is Ronald Curry. Now, I am a fan of Curry's, and I know he can make plays, but I think he should be played in the slot on three receiver sets. I don't see him developing at this point to a good number-one or two receiver in this league.
Johnnie Lee Higgins is fast and can possibly stretch the field for the Raiders. Other than those two players, the Raiders don't have anyone worth mentioning.
Last year Kiffin said players would not be on scholarship anymore. How about Chris McFoy and William Buchanon from USC? They are on the roster but have not made any impact.
This is a huge need for the Raiders, just behind tackle. Bryant Johnson from the Cardinals should be looked at—and at this point, a second-round pick of receiver is a real possibility.
The Raiders should try to both sign a free agent like Johnson or DJ Hackett, and draft a receiver like James Hardy of Indiana in round two. Seeking a trade to obtain a WR would be a good idea also. Give Arizona a call and ask about Larry Fitzgerald, or see if Cincinnati is ready to let Chad Johnson go yet.
Personally, I would give the first-round pick to Arizona for Fitzgerald. I think if Fitz was in this draft, he would be gone by that pick, so I could justify that trade.
3. Defensive End
Derrick Burgess is great, and Jay Richardson showed some promise. But they are the only DEs on the roster.
That's not good. The Raiders should reach out to Antwan Odom, the free agent DE from Tennessee, and give him a look.
Or they could find a good DE in this Draft. Vernon Gholston may be available at pick four. The Raiders could select him and look for an offensive tackle and receiver in rounds two, four, six, or seven.
They could also explore the possibility of trading down to obtain extra picks if a team would be willing to move up. There are several DEs predicted to be drafted later in the first round.
If the Raiders can solidify these three most glaring needs, you may see a playoff team in the near future.
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7 months ago
Word!
7 months ago
Great Article. I agree 100%. Larry Fitzgerald however would have to want to be a Raider because we would never trade for him at his current salary.
7 months ago
I like the article but those aren't the 3 biggest needs. Despite the fact that I like DT Tommy Kelly and feel that signing him was necessary and that the Raiders overspent on him. Until the Raiders are consistently stopping the run VERSUS anybody DT is the biggest need. The Raiders will come out of this draft with at least two Offensive Tackles the only tackle that will be considered in the 1st round at pick #4 is Jake Long who will be selected either #1 or #2 overall. Acquiring either WR Larry Fitzgerald & WR Chad Johnson will be too expensive. The only free agent left worth a a big deal is OLB Calvin Pace who appears to be set to sign in Miami. DE Vernon Gholston would be nice but I would still take DT Sedrick Ellis and DR Glen Dorsey ahead of him at this point based on need. In regards to WR's the Raiders will draft one or two they did sign a free agent WR this off season who is a deep threat known for his explosive speed that a defense has to respect. His name is Todd Watkins; he is a second year player that was drafted by the Cardinals in the 7th round of 2006. He was projected to go in the 5th round. Oh course theres no guarantee that this guy will be the guy to fill that need the Raiders have but it does give the coaching staff a weapon to develop. Now that the Raiders have a new NFL veteran WR coach Wadkins & Higgins can develop into productive players. Caoch did a tremendous job with Vincent Jackson in San Diego.
7 months ago
If either of the DT's that you listed were the type of DT the Raiders needed I would agree. Both are undersized and suited to play 3 technique. The same position that Tommy Kelly plays. The Raiders need someone to be a run stuffer like Turdell Sands was intended to be. In a 4-3 Defense you should carry 4 DT's. Kelly, Warren (both 3 Tecniques),Sands(NT). We have room for 1 more. If you are looking to stop the run why go with undersized pass rushing DT's? They have 2 already. The Raiders need someone like Frank Okam in the 4th round who is 6-5 350 pounds. A run stuffer. He could rotate with Sands and Kelly and Warren could do the same. As far as Fitz and Ocho Cinco being expensive, they would be and the best players always are. That being said Fitz would have to restructure but still be paid like the elite receiver that he is. In his first four years he has two seasons with over 100 catches.
7 months ago
I see your point but I would have to disagree with you. I don't feel that these guys are undersized at all. I feel that the Optimum NFL DT size is 6' 4" 305 lbs. but the Minimum NFL size is 6'1" 285 lbs. Now that guy at the minimum size wouldn't hold up if a team with bigger offensive lineman continuously ran the ball right at them. This is what has been happening to the Oakland Raiders for at least 5 years straight. I don't feel that both Dorsey & Ellis are undersized because both are the same size as Kelly Gregg and can play 2 or 3 technique and both have had success doing so in their college careers. However, they're both not 0 or 1 technique NT type's designed to demand a double team on sheer size alone. But I don't think we can discount both guys and say that aren't matches for the Raider defense. This team needs to finally draft DT's the Raiders passed on Haloti Ngata & Alan Branch the last two years as an example. I say this because from watching every snap of the Oakland Raiders defense it is clear to me that the D-lineman that were on the roster weren't getting the job done. Every team the Raiders played ran the ball down their throat with the as discussed bigger guys. Terdell Sands all 350 lbs. of him was moved out of the middle on several occasions per game. I have never seen a guy his size get pushed out of the play so often and from viewing it appears that he comes out of his stance and stands straight up doesn't anchor loses leverage and the Offensive line is lower than he is and he is neutralized. Meanwhile Warren Sapp was did play 2 & 3 technique and rushed the passer and had some success doing it more in 2006 the 2007 but with his pass rush and Sands being taken out of the play the middle would always be wide open. I agree with you that you need 4 DT's when you play a 4-3 front. The DT position for the Raiders right now has Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands, Gerard Warren. The Raiders need to add minimum one or maybe two more to solidify the position and to push Terdell Sands. Tommy Kelly can play DT & DE. I agree about Fitz & ocho cinco, but I have to disagree about Okam. He does have rare size with natural strength and he flashes some power. He is very smart. Solid character. He is an average athlete that plays down to the competition and looks too complacent when getting blocked. he plays too tall and loses leverage just like Sands. Even though he has the size he struggles to hold the point vs. double team and gets pushed back. He gives up his body and does not use his hands. I'm not sure if he has functional strength. He has been a career under acheiver that showed some flashes at the East-West Shrine game practices that he failed to show at Texas. He dominated some of the one-on one drills. Okam wasn't invited to the Senior Bowl but he is the 10th best DT in the draft and no disrespect to Okam but this is a business and I think the Raiders would be better served to acquire a better DT than Okam. This isn't the strongest DT class in the draft and ad always I hope the Raiders draft wisely but it would behoove them to go for need in this draft and grab the best available at a need position like DT, OT, WR. Now don't get me wrong I read and like your site. I love the selection of DE Vernon Gholston as well and I think that puts the Raiders selecting a DT in round 2 and looking at Trevor Laws or Marcus Harrison.
7 months ago
Upon further review James Hardy is a solid choice for round two but that means a DT in round 4 unless the Raiders can somehow work a trade to acquire a pick in the 3rd round. Again like the site.
7 months ago
Jeff,
Well stated. I guess we can both agree that the Raiders need help at DT. I also like Red Bryant from Texas A&M. I like Trevor Laws as much as I like Ellis or Dorsey. He had 112 tackles last season! Thanks for your posts they are much appreciated.
7 months ago
both sands and warren are (NT)s. tommy is a good player at both DT and DE, but we do need a good pass rusher to help take the load of burgess. now scheme is what we are missing, LBs hitting the gaps instead of dropping to cover, stoping the run is attitude.for example Bob sanders .
7 months ago
Attitude has alot to do with stopping the run as well as instincts, desire, technique, effort and execution. The run defense for the Raiders was better before Kelly was lost to injury as an example. I love Bob Sanders a guy that alot of scouts thought was entirely too small to play safety in the NFL. I love it when a out proves to scouts and everyone else that he is a player like a 5th, 6th, 7th round guy or a undrafted free agent coming to a team playing well and proving himself.
7 months ago
Why, oh why, did they sign a safety? They had the number 1 pass defense in the league 2 years ago with the same crew they have now. They just need to execute and tackle.
They need run stoppers. People who know how to line up on a runner and tackle them, not reach out from 3 ft away and try and grab them. You can't do that in the NFL.
Why didn't they can Gallery and use that money to sign Faneca. Gallery has the focus of a 12 year old. What is it with Raider Right Guards and false starts? Steve Wisniewski used to kill the Raiders with false starts. Knocked em right out a playoff game against KC by false starting 3 plays in a row in the final minutes.
The Raiders problem, and it's plain is that the line is a sieve in both directions. O line needs to hold off the pass rush and D line needs to stop the ground game. IF they can do those two things, and execute fundamentals, the Raiders will be in the running in the sad AFC West.
from 7 months ago
You couldn't be more wrong. "Why, oh why, did they sign a safety?" You again mentioned that the Raiders HAD the #1 Pass defense in 2006. The key term is HAD; the reason why the pass defense was rated that high was because with the Raiders inability to stop the run teams had no reason to pass the ball. I guess you haven't noticed the debacle known as Stuart Schweigart. When you join the everyone else and look at the numbers you'll see that New Safety Gibril Wilson has better numbers in less games than Schweigart. If you've watched any Raider games over the last 3 years you wouldn't be asking that question. From this comment and the others you've posted I've noticed that there is something you need to look into its called building a team. The Raider Right Guard in 2007 was Cooper Carlise and he had the fewest false starts on the team and in the league. The false start leader was LT Barry Sims 2 years running.
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