Tag: anaylsis

Raiders should have eyes on Reciever in 14′ Draft

Watching the AFC Playoffs, and watching 3 division rivals play for a Superbowl is rough. As I watch the Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs I realize how undermatched the Raiders really were. The Raiders offense lacked the playmakers to compete against those teams. The Chargers have Antonio Gates and Eddie Royal, The Broncos have Demarius Thomas, Wes Walker, and Knowshown Moreno, and The Chiefs have Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe.
For the Raiders, recievers Denarius Moore and Rod Streater flashed potential, but they still lack the ability to consistently dominate a game. The combination of Raiders Recievers were mediocre at best. Streater caught 900 yards, Moore caught 600 despite injuries, and Holmes caught 400 towards the end of the season.

Bottom Line: Regardless of who the Raiders have at Quarterback, The Raiders need an explosive gamechanger around him. The Raiders need to adress the receiver position sometime between rounds 1-3 of the draft. Young Tighte Ends Rivera and Kasa flashed potentional, but could also benefit from an outside threat who can be relied on for big 3rd down catches. Here is my anaylsis of this draft classes’ recievers. While Sammy Watkins seems to be the conseus #1 reciever, this is still a very deep draft class of pass catchers. If they miss out on Watkins the Raiders can still get quality later in the draft.

1. Sammy Watkins-Clemson

Sammy Watkins is only 6-1. He isn’t the massive target that AJ Green or Julio Jones were. Watkins can change the game. He has the versatility to play the outside or inside position. His effortless acceleration makes crisp routes, and big plays down the field. He can take the ball anytime he touches it rather it is a return, screen, or run play. Besides his advance route tree I think Watkins possess a lot of maturity unlike Moore. I think he is the most NFL polished reciever in this draft and who ever the Raiders have at QB will be better of this guy. Even the most pessimistic Raider fan can not argue him being drafted at 5, but ideally the Raiders would love to grab him and another draft pick via trading down in the first.

2. Mike Evans-Texas A &M

Mike Evans is a monster 6-5 posession style reciever. He has the size Reggie Mckenzie likes for his west coast offense. Evans has been compared to Vincent Jackson, but he is still raw. He makes big plays, but there are stretches when he is ineffective. Whoever drafts Evans will have to allow him develop his route running skills. Some Team will probably fall in love with Evans for the middle-late first round, so it is unlikely he will be a Raider. I think the Raiders could do better adding one of the more polished receiving targets

3. Marques Lee -USC

Marques Lee was probably one of the top receiving targets in last years draft. He won the Biletnikoff award as a junior, but followed it up with a disappointing senior year. Lee has a good combination of size and speed, and showcased that with 118 yds & 2 tds in his last game as a Trojan. His production and route running should translate to the next level. The Raiders could be very happy if he is on the board when they select in the 2nd round.

4. Allen Robinson

At 6’2, 211 lbs. Allen Robinson can grab balls out of the air. From Penn state, the reciever has a continuity with Matt McGloin. He had back to back 1,000 yds receiving, however, the knock on him is he doesn’t do anything spectacular and he has had some drops. The Raiders will have a tough decision between him and Lee in the 2nd, but Robinson will be considered.

5. Brandin Cooks- Oregon St.

128 receptions for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns are Cooks stats in 2013, as he was named the nations best reciever. He draws some comparisons to Tayvon Austin because he is undersized. At 5’11 186 Cooks is undersized, but he is also the biggest threat in the open field. If he falls to the 3rd round he could be an absolute steal. His speed and play-making ability could command attention from Streater, Holmes, and Moore. Cooks would add another dimension to the Raiders offense, so I could even accept the Raiders drafting him in the 2nd.

6. Davante Adams- Fresno State

I don’t care what anyone says, there is something about catching 24 touchdown passes in a season. Davante Adams did that in 2013. Yes he did it with an NFL QB and a Down-field system. However, Adams is an explosive down-field threat. His speed and size allow him to make plays on the ball. He could go anywhere between the late first and early third round. The Raiders need someone who has a nose for the end-zone. Adams is a local head and would be the down-field threat Raiders fans would love.

7. Kelvin Benjamin- Florida State

Benjamin is sure to have someone fall in love with him. He is a 6’5 reciever with enough speed to get down the field. He is coming off a national championship, which is a benefit of playing with a heisman winner. He could be as low as Mike Williams or as High as Vincent Jackson. Someone may reach for him in the 1st rd, but he should probably have enough upside to be worth a 2nd rd pick.

8. Jordan Matthews- Vanderbilt

He only played in the toughest college football conference, but Matthews might be a sleeper pick. At 6’3 he can make plays on the ball, and drops are uncommon for Matthews. He has a 2nd round grade according to CBSSPORTS.com and he could fall to the early 3rd for the Raiders.

9. Odell Beckham Jr. – LSU

Beckham won an award for having the most yards in all of football. He is raw, but his kick returning ability should have him climb up draft boards. At 5’11 205LBs he doesn’t have elite size, but his hands and route running ability are underrated. The Raiders desperately need a game-changer in the return game, and someone to stretch the field. Beckham could be that answer in the 3rd, as he averaged 19 yds a reception last season.

10. Jared Abbrederis – Wisconsin

Despite shaky quarterback play he had a 78 reception season in 2013.  At 6’1 he doesn’t have great size or jump off the tape, which will probably hurt his status compared to others in the draft. He does make plays and is one of the most underrated prospects according to SI.com. He can make plays and if the Raiders should take him in the 3rd or 4th rd.

Best of the Rest:

Paul Richardson- Colorado

Bruce Ellington- South Carolina

Donte Moncrief- Ole Miss

Mike Davis- Texas

Jarvis Landry- LSU

Martavis Bradley- Clemson

Cody Latimore- Indiana

The Result: I am old-school, I like my Raiders recievers fast and able to stretch the field. I can live with adding a dynamic play maker at #5 by drafting Watkins. However, if they select a defensive player with #5 then there are plenty of options in the 2nd round. Lee and Robinson are probably the best players available if they are available at the top of the second. I like Lee despite the track record of USC receivers, he has enough production and upside to be the raiders #1. Cooks or Adams could also be considered at the top of the second round because of their dynamic play-making ability. I like the dimensions either of those guys add as a compliment to the Raiders Receivers Corps. If the Raiders do decide to hold out until the 3rd round than Cooks or Adams should be the no brainer pick if either are available. Outside of that, Beckham could also be a great value selection in the 3rd round because of his special teams ability. Some of the other receivers are bound to fall and the Raiders have other needs, hence they may just wait until the 3rd round and select the best available. My Personal favorite is Adams. Adams is a local out of Fresno State, and you can not teach 24 tds. I don’t care what anyone says, the Raiders need someone who has a nose for the endzone. He might be raw, but I wouldn’t mind the Raiders selecting a defensive player #5 and getting Adams in the 2nd rd.

 

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What Terrelle Pryor means to the Raiders

What Terrelle Pryor means for the Oakland Raiders

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If this Raiders team is as bad as everyone is making them seem, than they need all the play-makers they can get. Terrelle Pryor gives them exactly that from the quarterback position. Pryor gives the Oakland Raiders the best chance to win, because defenses have to account for his arm and his legs, but defenses must respect his play-making ability. Pryor might not have the same accuracy or football I.Q as Matt Flynn, but Pryor’s god given instinct and ability make him the better choice for this Raider team.

Yes Terrelle Pryor is fast, strong, and athletic. In The Raider’s preseason games Pryor proved that he is capable of translating his athleticism at the next level. However, the most promising thing that can be taken away from those games is Pryor’s willingness to take on the big moment.

With all respect towards Flynn, the Raiders have no where near the amount of talent and play-makers that a game manager like Flynn would need to be successful. Instead, the Raiders need another play-maker that the defense must respect besides Darren Mcfadden. Forget the fact that the zone option with Mcfadden and Pryor is scary; Pryor any time on a bootleg is just as threatening. Then you add a shaky offensive line and the Raiders need a quarterback, like Pryor, who can move just to stay up right and keep drives alive. All offseason I’ve heard multiple sources talk about how Greg Olsen is willing to tailor his offense to his player.Well here is Olsen’s chance.

[Bold: What Pryor gives the Raiders on offense]

Pryor’s game changing ability will open things up for all of the players on the Raiders offense. Even though the Raiders do not have an every down, dominate player outside of Mcfadden they have plenty of guys who possess the versatility and explosiveness to be effective. Guys like Ausberry, Reese, Ford, Moore, Kasa, etc. all posses such unique skill sets that the Raiders would benefit from a more spread style offense were they can get the ball into various players hands and give them opportunities to make plays. Pryor, has experience with this type of offense as does Mcfadden, and we have seen other teams in the NFL with half the explosiveness, use this type of offense effectively. Pryor can then key on the various mismatches the Raiders create with all of the size and athleticism at the skill positions.

[Bold: Why Pryor is ready to be the starter]
Entering Ohio State as top recruit carries it’s own expectations, and Terrelle Pryor handled that well on the field. Off the field, Pryor had his own well documented issues with maturity and signs of that showed early in the pros. However, Pryor has matured and that is evident with this entire off-season. Terrelle knew that he was the dark horse to be the starting quarterback, but he said all the right things and when his opportunity came, he was was ready. Even with his struggles, he showed a resilience and a want to get better. All that aside, the fact that Pryor has put so much work into refining his game the past to seasons shows that he isn’t the same immature guy he was at OSU, instead showing he isn’t taking the opportunity for granted. Pryor didn’t show us anything we didn’t know in the preseason. We knew Pryor, was fast, big, and had a strong arm. However, he did remind us that he is gamer and competitor who has been playing on the biggest stages since high school. Further his advancement at making reads and audibles shows that Pryor is taking responsibility for maturing his game at the NFL level.

[Bold: Why the Raiders need Pryor to be successful}

Finally, the Raiders need Pryor to be successful, because every teams number one goal is to SELL TICKETS. Not only, is Pryor an explosive player who is fun to watch, but he is also a fan favorite. Pryor is going to get fans and people around the league excited for the Raiders again. Pryor is the hope for this fan-base and the organization, so the Raiders must play him just to exhaust every option.

Pryor has similar athleticism and accolades to Cam Newton and RG3 who are responsible for injected life into their respective franchises, as rookies. While Pryor may not be the same type of prospect these guys were, you can not convince me that Newton and Griffin as rookies were better than Pryor is now after three years of NFL experience. If those two can have such an impact as rookies than I think it is fair to have similar expectations for a third year Pryor.

Either way, even if Pryor fails, at-least then he leaves the door open for the number 1 pick next year. In that case, we won’t even have any debate about what position to draft with that #1 pick. In any event, playing Pryor at least makes it look like the Raiders aren’t tanking for #1 pick…