5 Oakland Raiders Players with Most to Prove in 2017
Every year, several players start the season with a little more purpose riding on the upcoming season compared to their teammates. As a dark-horse pick to knock off the AFC's elite clubs, the microscope will focus in on an Oakland Raiders squad with five prime-time games on the 2017 schedule.
Some guys need to earn their roster spots or contemplate playing in a new uniform. Others have to perform to land a better deal on the 2018 free-agent market. Second-year players with upside have to begin showing off potential at some point.
There's mounting pressure on this franchise to deliver a Super Bowl before leaving for Las Vegas. In order to reach that goal, the following players should or could contribute to a larger part of the team's success in 2017.
Marshawn Lynch
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The decision to add Marshawn Lynch certainly provided positives to the locker room. Despite his terse dialogue with the media, the 31-year-old running back connects well with his teammates.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper, who isn't a man of many words himself, put Beast Mode's demeanor into perspective after an organized team activity session in May, per ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez: "It's nice to have his presence there, just the energy he'll bring to the team, the attitude he'll bring on Sundays. He's a good spirit. He's cool to have around, a really cool person.”
The Raiders last year went to the postseason for the first time since playing January games in 2003. Lynch carries five years of playoff experience with him from the Seattle Seahawks, which includes two trips to the Super Bowl. Nothing compares to adding winners to the locker room.
However, beyond the locker-room fit and playing nice with teammates, the Raiders need Beast Mode to bring his trademark roughhouse play on to the field at select times. Lynch won't have the luxury of establishing a rhythm in the backfield with nearly 20 carries per game in most cases. The coaching staff will ask him to fit into a three-man rotation alongside DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard as the deal-closer.
After about 20 months since his last live-action carry in January 2016, the fresh-off-retirement Lynch will have to fill an important role in the ground attack to match or better last year's No. 6 rushing offense.
Above all, the Raiders will ask Beast Mode to show up in the winter months when the weather and temperatures play a factor in outcomes.
Sean Smith
2 of 5
How do you like your cornerbacks? Burned liked toast, or rubbery and hard to cut through?
We saw both characteristics in cornerback Sean Smith's coverage through his first year as a Raider. At times, you could justify why general manager Reggie McKenzie snagged the ex-Kansas City Chief as a primary free-agent target. Other times, we watched him trail receivers and look helpless.
Safety help or not, Smith can't resemble toast for extended periods in the upcoming season. According to Spotrac, the team doesn't owe him any dead money after the 2017 campaign. However, his salary average ranks second behind offensive guard Kelechi Osemele at $9.2 million per year.
If he fails to live up to starting standards, rookie Gareon Conley could take over the spot sooner rather than later. Oakland's secondary must see improvements to take the next step in contending in the AFC against a team like the New England Patriots; Smith has to become part of the solution on the back end.
Jihad Ward
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Jihad Ward, the Raiders' 2016 second-round pick, didn't experience the same early success as their 2015 second-round pick, Mario Edwards Jr.
Every player develops at a different pace, but typically, general managers expect a relatively immediate impact from an early draft pick. Ward played 636 defensive snaps but didn't provide much as a run-stopper or pass-rusher. He recorded 30 total tackles and a fumble recovery in 16 games, which included 13 starts.
Head coach Jack Del Rio described Ward as a robotic rookie in the previous season with the ability to win his matchup and continue to engage all over the field, per NBC Bay Area reporter Scott Bair: "The message is, don’t be so rigid. Yeah, you have the B-gap, but you can whip that guy and go make a play in the A or B or C or somewhere else in the backfield. Sometimes young guys are so conscientious on being exactly where they have to be that they just don't play football."
Hopefully, Ward received the message well coming into his sophomore season. Even though the team will count on Edwards playing through the year, it's not a guarantee he finishes a 16-game schedule without landing on the injury report.
Furthermore, the second-year pro has an opportunity to play for a starting spot opposite Edwards in odd-man fronts. A sophomore surge could help him keep his snap count above 600, but a slump could drop him behind veteran Denico Autry or rookies Eddie Vanderdoes and Treyvon Hester.
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Justin Ellis
4 of 5
Do the Raiders have a quality nose tackle in the middle who can create an impenetrable human wall? Justin Ellis will provide answers in 2017.
Ellis' starts have dropped from 14 as a rookie to nine during the 2015 campaign down to four in the previous season.
The team released defensive tackle Dan Williams, but that doesn't protect Ellis' workload. The Raiders have several players capable of playing across the defensive line in case the fourth-year pro finds comfort in complacency.
Ellis enters a contract year, and he's only displayed average run-stopping skills through three seasons. For a bigger payout, he must flash in the backfield as a disruptor on rush downs, at the very least. A stalemate interior lineman won't have many high-paying deals on the table during free agency.
Austin Howard
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Austin Howard could start on September 10 at right tackle or he may be looking for a job elsewhere in August. The pendulum swings wildly for the seventh-year veteran because of his expected absence with a shoulder injury and competition on the right side.
McKenzie added another veteran in Marshall Newhouse at a cheaper price. The ex-New York Giant signed a modest two-year, $3.5 million deal. Howard begins the fourth year of his five-year contract, which carries a $6.4 million cap hit in 2017. The team can save $5 million by releasing him, per Over the Cap.
The front office also drafted two offensive linemen, which puts half the writing on the wall for Howard. If he doesn't earn a starting position, at his salary, his career in Oakland will come to an abrupt end.
Younger or less costly talent will take favor in a position battle among comparable players, especially with quarterback Derek Carr waiting for his deserved payday.
Player contract detail provided by Spotrac unless otherwise noted.
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