Draft Review: Oakland Raiders
When Reggie McKenzie was hired as the Raiders’ general manager back in 2012, he took over a roster that finally appeared to be on the come following back-to-back 8-8 seasons, their first .500 or better finishes since Hot in Herre reminded us how awful Nelly is at everything. With an elite combination of salary cap incompetence and awful free agent acquisitions, the new GM ran the team so far into the ground they could smell Chinese food.
Despite that rocky start, McKenzie somehow managed to turn things around, staying away from the bad veteran signings that had plagued him, ditching some bad deals he was saddled with by the previous regime, drafting surprisingly well, and finding the right coach in Jack Del Rio. Here we are four years later and the silver and black looks primed to take another step towards respectability.
Along with the on-field improvements have come some honest-to-goodness fantasy value in Oak Town. Our question of the day is whether the incoming draft class adds to that value or detracts from it. I shall endeavor to find out. Won’t you ride along?
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Connor Cook, QB Michigan State
Round 4, 100th overall
When I heard this pick read off, I quickly jumped on Twitter to see if Al Davis had been reanimated. It isn’t that Cook doesn’t have an NFL skill set or that he was over-drafted or anything like that. Instead, my surprise mostly centered on the whole Derek Carr thing. You know, the Raiders’ franchise QB who had just thrown for nearly 4000 yards and 32 TDs against only 13 interceptions.
Aside from Carr, there are other reasons for alarm, all of which were covered in my Rookie SWOT article. For those of who missed it, here is a quick recap: He looks every bit the part if the part were a worse Jay Cutler.
To me, Cook is a guy who will always have issues overcoming a lack of instincts, bad attitude, poor leadership qualities, and inability to play within the design of a play. At the very least, he is certainly no threat to Carr and shouldn’t be rostered in anything other than leagues where you can start more than one quarterback. Even then, he is barely worth owning.
DeAndre Washington, RB Texas Tech
Round 5, 143rd overall
It is hard to hit a home run this deep in the draft, but the Raiders may end up with an extra base hit with Washington, a 5’8”, 200 pound buzzsaw of a running back. How we rate this pick down the road will likely come down to whether the little guy can handle pass game work well enough to carve out a consistent role early in his career.
Aside from his size, the biggest knocks on Washington mostly center on his size because he lacks size. Also, he is small. Concerns abound about the potential for drops and fumbles, largely due to Trumpian 9” hands. There is also some worry about his ability to run inside, something I tend to share based on my brief film study. The effort isn’t lacking, but the results may not be pretty.
It isn’t all bad though, as Washington’s quickness, toughness, and acceleration could carry him to a nice career as a prominent receiving/change of pace back. He certainly has all the tools, the faith of his coaches (early reports are glowing) and isn’t going to be held back by the inconsistent, uninspiring Latavius Murray.
Players like Washington aren’t all that uncommon. What makes them succeed or fail comes down to the scheme fit as much as anything. (Danny Woodhead wouldn’t be Danny Woodhead if he played for Jeff Fisher.) Looking back at Bill Musgrave’s recent history, over his last four seasons calling plays (2011-2013 in Minnesota and 2015 in Oakland) we have seen him use his running backs to catch passes (Murray had 54 targets last year). Unfortunately, we haven’t seen a player be able to carve out any sort of a true pass game role. It was thought Roy Helu would be that guy last season, but it didn’t happen.
As with most fifth round picks, it will be an uphill battle for Washington, especially if Musgrave doesn’t work towards his strengths. But if he can get on the field early, we could have ourselves another pass catching RB2 type in the Giovani Bernard mold. Washington is well worth a late second round rookie pick.
Vadal Alexander, G Louisiana State
Round 7, 234th overall
What was a major position of weakness as recently as a year or two ago, the Raiders now have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. Alexander, despite being a massive human being at 6’6” and 330 pounds and a projected day two pick, is unlikely to crack the rotation any time soon.
As you may guess from his size, Alexander is very powerful, as he can swallow up a defender with ease. Where he runs into problems is with faster players, as he has painfully slow feet. With that limitation he profiles as a guard prospect with the upside to be an NFL starter, but is likely just a depth guy in Oakland for the time being.
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- How to Win Without Watching Football - July 22, 2021
- 2018 Summer Sleeper: Chicago Bears - July 9, 2018
- NFL Draft Aftermath: Winners and Losers from the AFC North - June 18, 2018
