Raiders Have Building Blocks in Place, Cap Room to Take Big Leap Forward in 2015

The Oakland Raiders may be mulling a move back to Los Angeles, but what really needs to change isn't the team's zip code.

It's the Raiders' view from the AFC West basement, a residence the Raiders have held for the better part of the past decade.

Of course, it's a view the team vows to change each and every season, and yet when all is said and done, the Raiders have wound up right back in the cellar.

This year, though, just might be different. In 2015, the Raiders enter the season with more than just loads of salary-cap space with which to add pieces in free agency and more than just another top-five pick in the NFL draft.

This time, the Raiders actually have a few pieces to build around, and that could make the difference between another season of wheel-spinning and the leap toward respectability that Raiders fans have craved for so long.

Of course, a quick look at the Raiders quarterbacks over that decade of futility goes a long way toward explaining why the team hasn't made a playoff appearance since 2002. Whether it was veteran retreads such as Carson Palmer and Kerry Collins or draft-day disasters such as JaMarcus Russell, the quarterback position in Oakland has been a catastrophe.

Granted, Derek Carr's numbers as a rookie weren't jaw-dropping. Carr threw for just under 3,300 yards in 2014, tossing 21 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions. He posted a passer rating of less than 80, ranked 38th among 39 qualifying quarterbacks at Pro Football Focus and guided the NFL's worst offense last season.

And yet, new Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio didn't hesitate for a moment when Jim Rome asked him if he thought Carr was the Raiders' franchise quarterback of the future. 

"Carr's a special young talent," Del Rio said, per Chris Wesseling of NFL.com. "He's got a really quick release, good decision-maker; he's shown some of that grit we're looking for, some of that toughness, so he's a guy that we feel like we have an opportunity to build around."

Those numbers may not have been stellar, but for a rookie quarterback with precious little offensive talent around him, they also weren't terrible by any stretch. Carr showed real promise, and most importantly, he took care of the football.

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Luck-like numbers they weren't, but Carr's rookie season compares favorably to that of the Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill, who over three seasons has quietly grown into just the sort of quarterback the Raiders hope they have in Carr.

Del Rio's praise for Carr sounded a lot like what new Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton had to say about the young player who was drafted just before Carr a year ago.

While speaking with Michael Wagaman of ESPN, Norton raved about the potential of outside linebacker Khalil Mack:

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I've been very, very impressed. One thing I have with my linebackers at Seattle, we do a great job of just watching other players across the league to see what they do well. See the type of things that I can help them coach and get themselves better and just see what is going on. Khalil Mack is a guy, with Bruce Irvin and the rest of my SAM linebackers, guys on the strong side, just watched his explosion, his speed, his combination of size and his strength … He's a really smart player and he loves playing ball. I've done really well with young men who have a knack of making plays and really love playing football.

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Mack didn't do anything to make the Raiders regret selecting him fifth overall a year ago. The former Buffalo standout racked up 76 tackles and four sacks in his first NFL season, grading out as the top 4-3 outside linebacker in the entire NFL, per PFF.

It wasn't just Mack and Carr who made a dent as rookies in 2014. In fact, back in November, Wesseling graded the Raiders' 2014 draft class as the league's best from a first-year-impact perspective:

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First-round pick Khalil Mack is already one of the NFL's most effective run-stuffing linebackers. Second-rounder Derek Carr has been the most impressive of the rookie quarterbacks, suggesting he could develop into a league-average starter at the very least. Third-rounder Gabe Jackson has held his own at left guard while fourth-rounder Justin Ellis has exceeded expectations at nose tackle. Seventh-round pick T.J. Carrie has shown flashes at cornerback and in the return game.

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It was a fine haul from a team that desperately needed one.

And there's more. Second-year pros such as running back Latavius Murray and linebacker Sio Moore battled injuries, but when they were on the field, the two showed glimpses of the ability to not only start but make a real impact at the professional level.

There's real, young talent on the Oakland roster entering the 2015 season. Now comes the hard part...

Adding around them.

According to Over the Cap, only the Jacksonville Jaguars have more cap space than the Raiders' $54 million and change in 2015. Given that the cap may well come in higher than the $140 million that OTC projects, it's possible that the Raiders could have upward of $60 million in their war chest this spring.

And according to what general manager Reggie McKenzie told Levi Damien of SB Nation, the Raiders won't be sitting on their hands when free agency opens on March 10:

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Last year, I felt like we needed more role players. Now we're looking for some guys who can come in and be impact (players). Be starters. More so. So in volume, that way, I'm looking for less volume that way. I don't need as many backup players. We need to get stronger. We're going to go after some real players.

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Sure enough, ESPN's Bill Williamson linked the Raiders to one of the higher-end options at a position of need for the team in Green Bay wideout Randall Cobb:

Granted, plowing into free agency full speed ahead carries its own pitfalls. Elite free agents such as Cobb and the Broncos' Demaryius Thomas aren't going to be easy to pry away from their teams. For a team such as the Raiders, it will probably require overpaying to an extent.

The Raiders will also need to do better in free agency than last year, when contracts for the likes of defensive ends LaMarr Woodley and Justin Tuck and offensive guard Austin Howard didn't net much of a return.

Still, two of the biggest positions of need for the Raiders (wide receiver and defensive end) also happen to be two positions with deep free-agent classes. The Raiders have plenty of coin to make both a wide receiver such as Jeremy Maclin and a pass-rusher such as Jerry Hughes very attractive offers—with room to spare.

And we haven't even gotten to the 2015 draft yet.

With the fourth overall pick on April 30, the team has an opportunity to add an impact player on a team-friendly, "new CBA" rookie deal. In his latest mock draft at Bleacher Report, NFL draft national lead writer Matt Miller looked to add a new target for Carr—maybe:

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Fans of the Oakland Raiders have not liked this pick in previous mock drafts, but after watching Kevin White run a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at 6'3" and 215 pounds, I'll bet they are coming around to it.

White offers the most upside, sure, but he's also the type of big, physical, violent wide receiver who can dominate a game. Amari Cooper is close behind him, and it may come down to scheme preference when looking at the two, but in my rankings, White comes out as the best wide receiver in the draft.

The Raiders have many holes, so a trade down would make sense for them if a quarterback-needy team is trying to come up for Marcus Mariota.

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Rob Rang at CBS Sports also mocked White to the Raiders at No. 4. For colleague Dane Brugler, it was Cooper, while Pat Kirwan predicted a trade down and the selection of Missouri pass-rusher Shane Ray.

Just as with free agency, the Raiders are in a prime spot to do some real damage at a position of need here. How the team fares in the former respect may well determine its course of action in the latter.

Whatever the course, it's time to get aggressive, for a couple of reasons.

After 11 wins in three seasons, McKenzie is very much on the hot seat. He admitted as much to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle after firing head coach Dennis Allen last year, saying "A lot of it rides on me. I brought Dennis in to win championships here and to win period. That did not materialize.”

Granted, McKenzie inherited a mess, but patience has worn thin where his rebuild is concerned. It's time for results. McKenzie has to be more on his game than ever.

Relax. According to Troy Machir of the Sporting News, that was twin brother Raleigh McKenzie grabbing some zzzs during the wide receiver workouts at last week's combine.

Also, while the Raiders might finally be trending upward, the rest of the division appears to be sliding in the opposite direction.

The Denver Broncos may well remain the class of the AFC West, but the unceremonious end to Denver's season and uncertainty about quarterback Peyton Manning's future have cast clouds of doubt across the Mile High City. After making the playoffs in 2013, both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers missed the postseason a year ago.

There's hay to be made in that division.

None of this is to say that it's going to happen overnight. The Raiders aren't going to win the division next year, even if McKenzie hits free agency and the draft out of the park.

However, with an impact free agent or two and a second straight strong draft, an eight-win season is a real possibility for the Raiders in 2015—the sort of season that could see the Raiders enter the month of December in playoff contention.

And even that would be a huge leap forward for the Raiders and their long-suffering fanbase.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.