Five Moves To Watch For As The Raiders Offseason Moves Along

It feels like the Raiders have never had more at stake than what they do now. Moving to a new city with a roster desperately needing good players – but with five first-round picks to their credit over the next two years – the Raiders will have every opportunity to pull their organization out of the burning dumpster it’s been baking in for the past two years.

In the past year, Raiders ownership has been incredibly bold in their decisions to pay a head coach $100 million and trade away one of the faces of the league in Khalil Mack.

So what’s next?

Probably a lot. Here a few scenarios to watch to as the Raiders offseason moves along.

5 – There have been rumors that the Raiders might wait another year to spend big in free agency (when that Nevada money kicks in), but Jon Gruden isn’t going to sit patiently or cut corners when it comes to offensive weapons… and that’s where Gruden is going to make his biggest splash of the offseason.

How is Gruden going to be able to resist throwing a top pick at the Steelers for Antonio Brown? Or A.J. Green for that matter. If Gruden was willing to give a third-round pick for Martavis Bryant, imagine what he would give up for an elite wide receiver.

4 – Kelechi Osemele is the second highest-paid player on the Raiders roster and he’ll be 30 when the 2019 season begins. Will the Raiders risk dumping Osemele to save $10.2 million in cap space?

It’s also possible that Osemele will have a trade market, so his situation will be one to keep an eye on. Bringing back Jon Feliciano would be cheaper and might work out better in the long run, anyway.

3 – Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray announced his decision to play football on Monday and he’s already being linked to the Raiders with their fourth-overall pick. Gruden, at least publicly, has not gone overboard to defend Derek Carr’s status on the team.

With the Cardinals, 49ers, and Jets (each being invested in a young QB) all picking ahead of the Raiders in the draft, if might be wise for Gruden and company to make it clear that teams will not have to jump ahead of them to draft a quarterback. The Buccaneers, Giants, and Jaguars pick directly after the Raiders and are all teams that might be looking for a quarterback in the first round. Show too much interest in drafting a quarterback and the Raiders might miss an opportunity to gain a stockpile of picks if/when a team decides they need to trade ahead of the Raiders to get the quarterback they want.

Double down on Carr and clear any doubt about his status on the team next year. Usually it’s a bad idea to show your cards before the draft, but at the quarterback position this year it might actually be wise for the Raiders to do exactly that.

2 – Is this the year the Raiders finally draft a franchise middle linebacker? Imagine trading down from the fourth overall pick, getting another first round pick, and taking LSU linebacker Devin White to hold down the middle of Paul Guenther’s defense for the next 8-10 years.

Of all the possible draft scenarios for the Raiders, this one might be one of the most exciting… assuming, of course, they can still find a pass rusher later in the first round.

Or…

1 – The Raiders learned first hand just how dominant the Redskins defensive line could be when they traveled to Washington D.C. in 2017. Preston Smith was one of five Redskins to sack Carr on that miserable Sunday night and Smith is about to become a free agent. He wouldn’t fill Khalil Mack’s big shoes, but Smith hasn’t missed a game in four years and he’s been quietly effective against both the run and pass.

For all the talk about the big-name pass rushers in free agency, keep an eye on Smith. If the Raiders are able to sign him, Smith would certainly offer Gruden a little flexibility at the top of the draft.

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