There is a lot we don’t know about the upcoming offseason, but one thing we do know is that the Raiders are expected to be aggressive in trying to add another pass rusher or two.
Whether by means of free agency or trade, the Raiders are going to try to make a splash on a player that can pressure the quarterback. There has been speculation that Jon Gruden may trade a high draft pick to get a pass rusher, but the ideal scenario for the Raiders would be to find a good pass rusher in free agency.
If they go the free agency route, look for the Raiders to make a run at Ravens defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. There haven’t been any strong reports linking the Raiders to Ngakoue, but don’t overlook the fact that the Raiders were reportedly one of the teams trying to trade for him just a little more than six months ago. Nothing has changed for the Raiders since they were initially interested in Ngakoue apart from the fact that their pass rush ended up being even worse than expected.
Ngakoue is still only 25 years old (he turns 26 in March) and has recorded at least 8 sacks in each of his five NFL seasons. He split time last year between the Vikings and the Ravens and actually put up better sack totals with the Vikings. In six games with the Vikings, Ngakoue had 5 sacks. In nine games with the Ravens, he had just 3 sacks.
Since Ngakoue is from the Baltimore area and the Ravens have a third-round pick invested in him, they should probably be considered the favorites to sign (or re-sign in this case) him. But how much will the Ravens be willing to pay a player that produced 3 sacks in nine games? Unlike other teams in the mix for Ngakoue, the Ravens could potentially gain a compensatory pick for not signing him.
So even though they gave up a pick for him, there might be some motivation for the Ravens to show restraint in their pursuit of Ngakoue.
For what it’s worth, Spotrac.com projects Ngakoue to get a deal worth around $16.2 million over four years – or approximately $15.5 million per year.
At that price… deal or no deal for the Raiders?
twitter: @raidersbeat
There’s a reason this guy is already playing for his 3rd team. $16 mil/yr for a player that is suspect against the run? No thanks. I get that he’d be an improvement over what the Raiders have currently, but at that salary, you’re getting a low rate of return on that high investment. With the 17th pick in the 1st rd, the Raiders aren’t necessarily going to find a difference making edge rusher in this years Class, so perhaps packaging that pick for an established player may be an option.
That’s a reasonable assessment PJ but I believe that the bigger issue is competent scouting. There is plenty of documented proof that there are many quality players to be had and good scouting has bore that out. If anyone wants to Google small school players who became giants in the NFL, they would see that Julian Edelman went to Kent State, Tyreek Hill came from West Alabama, Charles Haley went to James Madison University, Howie Long from Villanova, Antonio Brown went to Central Illinois, Deacon Jones from South Carolina State, Kahlil Mack from Buffalo, Marshall Falk from San Diego State and even Tom Brady was the 199th pick in his draft class. I’m sure that you understand my point. While General Managers and NFL coaches are the figureheads of any football franchise, as usual, it’s the foot soldiers, in this case, the scouting teams whose job it is to “shake the bushes” and find the hidden diamonds. I’m sure that whoever scouted for Bill Walsh and “found” Jerry Rice at Mississippi Valley State got a substantial bonus and most probably a promotion as a result of his efforts. These people who accomplish such feats always talk about how professional and thorough their organization is, from top to bottom. I n an effort to be kind, let me just say that “thus far,” the jury is still out on personell decisions made by past and past Raiders Senior Management officials. Personally, I like a lot of the personnel decisions made by the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a Raiders fan since 1968 and have absolutely no intentions of ever changing that but I do have two still very functional eyes and have to give those organizations credit for unearthing small school gems. I certainly hope that current Raiders scouts can at least equal some of the successes that these other teams have had.
The absolute best comment I have ever heard on this platform. You hot the proverbial nail on the head! That is the number 1 reason we haven’t been seen or heard from since January 2003. Even though we were trounced…..we were in the biggest game of the year!!!
The absolute best comment I have ever heard on this platform. You hot the proverbial nail on the head! That is the number 1 reason we haven’t been seen or heard from since January 2003. Even though we were trounced…..we were in the biggest game of the year!!!
i did like mr william gs comment you can add kc to that list just because they play for big schools like ala ohio st doesnt tmean you cant find talent else where an i would stay away from the wide out from ala unless you want another ruggs that cant catch a cold