The Road Ahead for the Oakland Raiders

For a franchise that has wallowed in futility since 2003, it's hard to say what will right the ship. The future of Lane Kiffin once looked promising—now it's up in the air.  With that said, Jon Gruden had plenty of run-ins with Al Davis yet still succeeded with Oakland--until of course, Al Davis traded Gruden in 2002, where Gruden succeeded of course with The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The Raiders did a decent job in free-agency, keeping key players and adding some as well.  Sure they overpaid—but so did everyone else.  Case in point: Critics lambast the contract given to S Gibril Wilson, yet hail the contract given to S Madieu Williams by the Minnesota Vikings.  The contracts between the two were nearly the same--the difference being that Wilson received about 6 million more than Williams.  The fact is however that Gibril Wilson started in a Super Bowl winning defense that prevented perfection for the best offense in NFL history.  Madieu Williams meanwhile, was a starter for a terrible defense in Cincinnati.  Conversely, the criticism of the Wilson contract doesn't coalesce.  Nevertheless, I think Oakland should have resigned DE Chris Clemons rather than overpay to keep DL Tommy Kelly, but I'm not as adamant in my opposition to that decision.  Ultimately, the underlying question about Oakland's free-agency acquisitions is whether those moves will position them well for the NFL Draft, which is what makes or breaks a franchise. 

And quite frankly, in the draft, Oakland has been broken time and time again.  Former first-round picks: DT Darrell Russell (1997), CB Charles Woodson (1998), G Mo Collins (1999), OL Matt Stinchcomb (1998), S Derrick Gibson (2001), CB/RS Phillip Buchanon (2002), LB Napoleon Harris (2002), and DL/LB Tyler Brayton (2003) have all moved on from Oakland—either because they weren't good enough, got traded, got in legal trouble, or signed elsewhere.

The book is still out on OL Robert Gallery (2004), CB Fabian Washington (2005), S Michael Huff (2006), and QB JaMarcus Russell (2007).  Only CB Nnamdi Asomugha (2003) and P Shane Lechler have been bona fide stars for Oakland since returning from Los Angeles and that still remain with the team (meaning, they have had other stars but they have moved on).  Meanwhile, former 1st round-pick, K Sebastian Janikowski (2000)has shown All-Pro ability just not the consistency.  Nevertheless, until 2006, Nnamdi Asomugha was considered a flop but is now considered the best shut-down corner in the NFL, so that does embolden me with hope in regards to the aforementioned top-picks.  Give 'em time. 

With that said, it frustrated me then and now that Oakland choose to select Robert Gallery with the 2nd-overall pick in 2004 when QB Ben Roethlisberger was available, as was QB Phillip Rivers.  The next year in 2005, QB Aaron Rodgers was available at 7th-overall, but Oakland had traded that pick for Randy Moss.  In 2006, QB Matt Leinart and QB Jay Cutler were available at 7th-overall, but the Raiders selected DB Michael Huff.  Only in 2007 did the Raiders finally select a quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, even though WR Calvin Johnson and RB Adrian Peterson were the better pure-picks.  I have hope for Russell, but like I said, it does frustrate me that Oakland has circled the waters for so long, only to now be on the right track.

If you think that's bad, it gets worse. In the rounds after the first, only WR Ronald Curry (7th/2002), RB Justin Fargas (3rd/2003), LB Kirk Morrison (3rd/2005), FB Oren O'Neal (5th/2007), TE Zach Miller (2nd/2007), RT Paul McQuistan (3rd/2006), CB Stanford Routt (2nd/2005), and LB Thomas Howard (2nd/2006) appear to be legitimate starters for Oakland.  Safety Stuart Schweigert (3rd/2004) and DE Jay Richardson (5th/2007) have showed some promise, but only time will tell.  As well, RB Michael Bush (4th/2007) could do for Oakland what RB Frank Gore did for San Francisco. 

But why the hell did Oakland trade a 3rd-rounder to get OT Mario Henderson (3rd/2007), yet not let him play in 2007?  And of course the big bad moves.  All the picks acquired from the Gruden-trade are no longer with the team.  Meanwhile, the Raiders traded the 7th-overall pick and Napolean Harris for Randy Moss in 2005--then traded Moss for a 4th round pick in 2007.  That pick in 2005 however, could have been used to select QB Aaron Rodgers.

Furthermore, I could name the flops, but: Why would I want too?  However, the Raiders have been strangely good at finding undrafted talent, such as DT Terdell Sands, DL Tommy Kelly, DB/RS Chris Carr and TE John Madsen.  They also hit home-runs in free-agency with ProBowl DE Derrick Burgess and ProBowl FB Justin Griffith, while the acquisitions of OL Cooper Carlisle and DT Gerard Warren were solid moves for building a foundation.

Don't get me wrong. Oakland has some hope.  But I emphasize the word "some."

The 2008 draft though is by far the most important. The Raiders have a chance to add the missing pieces to return to NFL legitimacy.  The question is: What can they do in order to maximize their potential?  If you have read my previous articles, the you would know that my initial opinion was for Oakland to select RB Darren McFadden as the one move to whitewash many of their flaws.

Well, I'm doing a 180 of sorts.  In that, the following is what I believe they can do defensively in order to right the ship.

While I still think D-Mac would be a good choice, my alternate scenario has Oakland picking Vernon Gholston.  The reason: The Raiders could move Gholston to linebacker, and do the same with Derrick Burgess.  Thomas Howard would move inside, while Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands, Gerard Warren, and Jay Richardson would become the occupiers on the line in the 3-4 instead of the 4-3; and maybe DL Calais Campbell will slide to Oakland in the 2nd-round.  I can only imagine the havoc that a linebacker group like that would cause.

As for the rest of the draft: Oakland is currently without picks in the third and fifth rounds. The third round pick was traded in order to get Mario Henderson in 2007 and the fifth was traded for Gerard Warren.  Oakland conversely needs to get more picks. Trading down in the second round might be a good idea, while trading LaMont Jordan for two 2nd-day picks would help.  The reason being is that two particularly intriguing offensive-linemen in the 2008 Draft are Heath Benedict and Mike McGlynn. Both compare well to bona fide starters (Jordan Gross, Mark Tauscher) and should be available in the third round; possibly the 4th-round.  If Oakland can get back in that round and grab them (or get them by any means), than that would be a nice haul.

All in all, the point is that for Oakland to turn things around is to learn patience and by developing from up from the bottom--rather than trying to make moves from the top in hopes that the bottom will follow.  Sound moves are the moves that resonate to success.  Cacophonous moves are the moves that make fans resort to tuning-out, bagging-up or finding a nice place in the universe of their mind and chanting,"Ohm."