Forum allgemein » The Morning After: Post Khalil Mack era edition

If there ever was a situation in sports that required a cool off period 2019 Cheap Clelin Ferrell Jersey , it’s now during the immediate aftermath of the Khalil Mack trade. Now that we are a little over 24 hours after the fact, maybe it’s time to have a less emotional look at what the Raiders just did. It’s still awful to think about having had such a great player and to have jettisoned them instead of paying for their services but it doesn’t have to mean the end of the world for this year’s Raiders.Clearly this was a move designed to give Oakland more financial flexibility in the future for multiple positions instead of loading the deck at the one spot that Khalil Mack would have manned. There is rhyme to this reason, even if it stinks of the moneyball philosophy that Oakland A’s fans know so well and despise.Whether you like the trade or not, the $23M per year contract that he signed with the Bears can be spent to improve several positions instead of just dominating the one. The Raiders defense is in need of help in several places with aging veterans playing key positions and a questionable secondary, and they did not improve their receiver corp like they had intended to do this past off-season either.Jon Gruden was brought in here for the long haul, this is just year one of a ten year contract and with that type of commitment comes the building of the roster to match his vision. That is a terrifying proposition if you are a pessimist and/or are looking back at the roster moves he made in Tampa Bay as the coach of the Buccaneers, but it’s the commitment that Mark Davis has already made to Gruden.The thing with only looking at Gruden’s time in Tampa and the failed moves since he took over like the Ryan Switzer, Martavis Bryant failures and this Mack trade is that it disregards that the Raiders did make some significant improvements too. As hard as it is to be positive, they did have what appears to be a hell of a draft with Maurice Hurst, P.J. Hall and Arden Key all looking like solid draft picks. If Kolton Miller or Brandon Parker manage to become starter quality offensive linemen then the impact of this past draft is already arguably larger than losing Mack to the Bears.That’s not to say I’m alright with this trade, because I most definitely am not. Yesterday was a bad dream that had me looking like the walking dead for most of the day, but I do believe that the Raiders can still be competitive this year without Khalil Mack. It’s a punch to the nether regions losing him, but Oakland’s defense was a hot mess the last few years even with having him. They are in position to be a better defense this year without him than they had been last year with him. They added some huge pieces to the defense to improve the overall quality of it, along with a defensive coordinator whose defensive scheme has been exciting to watch even just in preseason. The interior pass rush is night and day better than it’s been the past decade and it’s not like they don’t have anybody decent as edge pass rushers. They don’t have Mack anymore, but they do still have a pissed off Bruce Irvin and a lot of potential in rookie Arden Key along with a much improved Shilique Calhoun and Fadol Brown.It’s sad because with Mack this defense was starting to look like it could have been scary good, but I firmly believe they are going to be a better defense than they were last year. Couple that with a reinvigorated Derek Carr whose connection with Jon Gruden has gotten rave reviews so far and this team can still compete. They are not likely to be a powerhouse team or Super Bowl bound, but they weren’t that even before this trade happened.The value of two 1st round picks in the rookie wage scale era is huge, they are more valuable than they have ever been. The scary part is it all depends on who they use those picks on, but if they use them well the impact could be amazing. Yeah, the pessimist in me wonders if they will pay those guys even if they do hit big on the picks but even that would be 5 years after their selections.Those picks have the potential to improve the overall quality of the team very quickly with the players that Gruden envisions fitting into his plan. The impact of adding that many young, top draft picks in a short span is intriguing even if it did cost more than I’d ever have been willing to give up.No doubt it’s a huge risk, but it’s already finished and it is time to adjust to the new reality. I do think they never should have had to trade down in the 2020 draft by giving up their 2nd for a 3rd round pick in the process though. Khalil Mack is the best defensive player to ever be traded in his prime https://www.raiderslockerroom.com/authentic-antonio-brown-jersey , including anything else that benefits the Bears was completely absurd and I will never back down from that.Oh well now though, it is what it is. It’s time for the new reality of the 2018 Oakland Raiders, it’s time for the post Khalil Mack era to begin. It still hurts to write that but it hurts a little less than yesterday and it will hurt a little less still tomorrow. That’s just life as a Raiders fan, we should all be used to being uncomfortable by now anyway. While all eyes in the national media seemed to be on the quarterback position and whether the Raiders would be looking at replacing Derek Carr, most of us local folks weren’t buying into the hype...."While all eyes in the national media seemed to be on the quarterback position and whether the Raiders would be looking at replacing Derek Carr, most of us local folks weren’t buying into the hype. There were other positions that needed to be addressed and the quarterback talk was a lot of noise. But if you were among those wondering about the Raiders plans for Carr, their draft gives him the vote of confidence that he is their guy.As those who follow this team as closely as we do, we all have our ideas of what the Raiders should do with their draft picks. And inevitably at the end of it all, we’re left wondering how certain positions went either without enough of a priority or unaddressed altogether.There are only so many picks that can be expected to come in and contribute right away. Typically that’s players who were chosen on the first two days. But sometimes players take a bit later suggest they could have an early impact as well.The first round, the team used their three top picks on clear areas of need. They filled the gaping hole at defensive end with the addition of Clelin Ferrell. Likewise for the running back postion with the addition of Josh Jacobs. Then, finally, it was the safety position that got an influx of talent with the addition of Johnathan Abram.That was three of what figured to be six major needs on this team. The other three being linebacker, tight end, and guard.With one of their final three fourth round picks, they selected tight end Foster Moreau. That selection does little to fill the void left by the departed Jared Cook. Any tight end who could possibly do that was long gone by the time day three rolled around. The most notable among them was Iowa’s Noah Fant who was gone in the first round before the Raiders could select him at 24.What this leaves the Raiders with as their top option is Darren Waller, who the team signed off the Ravens practice squad late last season. The Raiders think very highly of Waller despite his having just 4 starts in 4 NFL seasons. After the draft, Mayock said Waller would the Raiders “displaced Y” and made an interesting comparison for him.“I was talking to Waller upstairs today,” said Mayock. “Boy, I thought we almost drafted…a minute I looked at him and shook his hands I thought it was Noah Fant. You know, from a height, size perspective, he looked very similar and he’s a very athletic kid.”As for Moreau Womens Derek Carr Jersey , he will be looked to as a blocker first and foremost with hopes to contribute some as a receiver in two tight end sets.“What we think we found is a tight end that can put his hand in the dirt and block number one,” Mayock said of Moreau. “Number two, we think he’s a little bit better athletically than most people think. And number three, we think he’s a great compliment to Waller.”What of linebacker, though? Well, this wasn’t a very strong draft at the position. After Devin White and Devin Bush in the first round, there was a significant dropoff in talent at the position. But even in the later rounds, the Raiders went away from the position, opting instead to double up on pass rusher with the selection of Maxx Crosby and cornerback with Trayvon Mullen in the second round and Isaiah Johnson in the 4th round.Late in free agency, the Raiders signed both Vontaze Burfict and Brandon Marshall to one-year deals. They were insurance signings mostly, and the Raiders will be cashing in on that insurance at very least to give them two proven starting options atop the depth chart heading into camp.Guard was a head-scratcher. They had many chances to add one in this draft who could come in and battle to be the replacement for the departed Kelechi Osemele. The one question was how much they liked Denzelle Good, who started three games at right guard late last season. Apparently the answer is quite a bit, because they ignored the guard spot completely in this draft and now Good is the team’s top option.“I mean he has been [the starter] all offseason and I would imagine if we lined up today, Tom would probably have him there,” Mayock said of Good. “You know, he played pretty well at the end of last season. I’m not sure, you know, he’s going to have to prove to us that he’s the long-term answer. He had some initial success at Indy (Indianapolis Colts) at tackle. He wasn’t able to sustain it. You know, so we need him to be consistent. I mean that’s going to be his challenge because he has the natural ability and size to be a starting guard in the NFL but he’s got to sustain it and be more consistent.”Even with Mayock saying Good has to prove he can be the guy, not adding any talent from the draft makes that task a lot more a clear path. Barring any surprise contender, there isn’t a lot standing in his way of holding onto the job come the season. And the Raiders seem pretty ok with that.Follow @LeviDamien