5 Moves Oakland Raiders Should Have Made This Offseason

The Oakland Raiders haven't had a lot of could’ve, would’ve, should’ve moments in this offseason, but there are some moves the organization missed that remain rectifiable.

Although the team has already improved the offense by a wide margin, these suggested moves pertain to the personnel on offense. There are front-line chess pieces that could be moved, shuffled, sacrificed or acquired to optimize the offense.

We’ll examine five missteps or potential moves that could have pushed and still may push the offense into a new stratosphere.

Signing a Veteran Guard

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Dan Connolly

The Raiders have four natural guards on their roster: Gabe Jackson, Lamar Mady, Jon Feliciano and Mitch Bell. For this reason, the right guard spot poses a problem heading into training camp.

Offensive guard is the most inexperienced position on the roster in terms of starts. Gabe Jackson is the most experienced and the leading guard on the roster as a second-year player with only 12 starts. None of the other natural guards on the roster has a start in the league.

While general manager Reggie McKenzie mentioned adding competition to the right guard position, per CSN Bay Area's Scott Bair, this stable of guards isn’t the ideal crop of competition needed to solidify the offensive line.

The lack of experience at cornerback garnered a lot of scrutiny, but at least there’s foreseeable potential at the position. The right guard spot remains in peril, with Feliciano not ready to step into a starting role.

Fortunately, Oakland still has the opportunity to acquire free agents Evan Mathis or Dan Connolly. Justin Blalock might have been a perfect fit to reunite with offensive line coach Mike Tice, but he retired from football, per NFL.com's Ian Rapoport (via ProFootballTalk's Josh Alper).

Keeping Austin Howard at Guard

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Howard (middle)

The Raiders have more than enough talent at offensive tackle. It’s just a matter of developing one player on the opposite side of Donald Penn.

Fourth-year tackle Matt McCants hasn’t seen a legitimate opportunity to showcase his talent as a starter, with only three starts in his career. Lately, he has received a small bump in status, taking over for Feliciano with the second team, per Silver and Black Pride writer Levi Damien.

"The one change along the offensive line I saw was yet another player in at right guard," Damien wrote. "Matt McCants was in with the second team at right guard. He has played there before, though he has been a reserve tackle for the most part over his two seasons with the team."

The Raiders also selected Anthony Morris in the second round of this year’s draft and continue to assess Menelik Watson’s progress. Starting the former second-round pick would help expedite this assessment before either moving on with Howard or continuing to develop a raw talent still relatively new to the game of football.

Yes, Austin Howard is in the second year of a five-year, $30 million contract, so the team should put him to use where he’s undoubtedly the front-runner to win a competition: at right guard. Keep in mind that whoever wins that right guard position in camp between Khalif Barnes and J’Marcus Webb will likely go through the same growing pains as Howard did in 2014 while playing at a new position.

Barnes is touted as a utility lineman, but he has played only 614 snaps at guard within his 10-year career, per Pro Football Focus. Howard played 1,060 snaps at guard last year.

Oakland is better off allowing Howard to continue his development at guard, as opposed to starting over with another inexperienced tackle in his place—at least until Feliciano progresses into a starter. Meanwhile, Watson would get meaningful reps at right tackle to reveal his starting potential or lack thereof.

Increasing Marcel Reece’s Reps at Tight End

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Marcel Reece

Is this the year Marcel Reece finds his niche within the offense?

According to ESPN's Adam Caplan (h/t ESPN.com's Bill Williamson), the fullback position will become obsolete within offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave’s offense.

In Bill Williamson’s report, ESPN scout Matt Williamson drew comparisons between Reece and Buffalo Bills tight end Charles Clay.

"Reece is perfect for such a role," Matt Williamson said. "I think he hasn't been utilized nearly enough as a move player/pass-catcher of late and I have no doubt he can do it. He has great hands and is an accomplished route-runner. I could see him developing into a similar player in this offense as Charles Clay in Miami."

Don’t interpret this as a direct production comparison to Clay. His role expanded significantly as he transitioned from fullback to tight end. He went from 33 targets in 2012 to 102 targets in 2013 as the focal point of the Dolphins offense.

Reece won’t get nearly the amount of targets Clay received in his role expansion. The Raiders drafted tight end Clive Walford in the third round, and Mychal Rivera has already established himself as a high-end receiving tight end. Where does Reece fit within the offense? How many snaps will he get at a competitive position?

What’s troubling is the fact that Reece exclusively practiced as a running back instead of splitting reps as a tight end during organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. Here are some insights, courtesy of Chris McClain of Scout.com and CSN Bay Area reporter Fallon Smith via Twitter:

"

#Raiders FB @celreece45, RB @lataviusm and the RBs go through drills @ Raiders Training Facilities https://t.co/1ZCf0VWwhb

— Chris McClain (@ChrisMcClain) June 2, 2015"

"

**VIDEO** Marcel Reece & Latavius Murray in individual drills #Raiders pic.twitter.com/KeGz5kHmsc

— Fallon Smith (@FallonSmithCSN) May 26, 2015"

It’s more than just a positional move on the field for Reece. He must gain a grasp of line protections and pass routes as a functional tight end to replicate anything close to Clay’s breakout performance in Miami. Oakland has Reece stuck in between this transition instead of clearly defining his role, which spells trouble for the outlook of his production.

Exploring Matt McGloin’s Trade Value

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Matt McGloin

The NFL trade deadline, or trade activity in its entirety, is the least compelling of the four major sports leagues in America. However, the Raiders should at least consider dealing backup quarterback Matt McGloin.

At this point, his stock isn’t getting any higher as he likely falls to the No. 3 quarterback spot on the depth chart. Christian Ponder’s past with Musgrave, dating back to their days in Minnesota, keeps him locked in the primary backup position.

McGloin was able to move the ball with an offense devoid of talent. In 2013, Oakland had the 24th-ranked pass-blocking offensive line in the league, per PFF, without a 1,000-yard rusher or receiver. Ponder had arguably the best running back in the league (Adrian Peterson), two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Greg Jennings and the seventh-ranked pass-blocking offensive line in the league.

McGloin deserves the No. 2 spot, but the lack of past ties hurts his chances and his stock. The Raiders should explore moving him to maximize the return.

The Buffalo Bills don’t have a clear-cut answer at quarterback, with Matt Cassel’s limited success and EJ Manuel's regression in his second season. Bills general manager Doug Whaley serves as a plausible candidate who might have interest in a talented quarterback in exchange for a mid-round draft pick.

Giving Austin Willis More Snaps as a Return Specialist

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Austin Willis

This is a classic case of putting all your eggs in one basket. Seventh-round pick Andre Debose was the clear-cut favorite to win the kick- and punt-return jobs before his Achilles injury.

After the team waived Debose in the first week of June, per Bill Williamson, the Raiders scrambled for a solution to fill a void within their special teams unit.

According to Williamson’s report, Oakland signed Trindon Holliday to compensate for its loss. However, the team signed capable return specialist Austin Willis on May 11, though he didn’t see any significant action until Debose’s injury.

The Raiders seemed content with Debose as their primary returner but failed to extensively explore alternatives in the unfortunate case of injury.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper fielded punts during mandatory minicamp, per Damien, which is a dangerous proposition. Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown returned kicks, but he also returned kicks in all four of his collegiate years at Notre Dame. Cooper has zero experience on special teams, and it’s not as simple as standing back and catching the football or waving for a fair catch.

Hopefully, Willis, who has some experience as a returner, proves capable of picking up the assignment as a return specialist to fill the void.

You can follow Maurice Moton on Twitter for the latest news on the Raiders.

All statistics are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. 

Team rosters courtesy of Raiders.com.

Player contracts courtesy of Spotrac.