Reggie McKenzie: Good At Drafting?

It’s open season on Reggie McKenzie. Through three seasons, most of his free agent signings haven’t worked out. D.J. Hayden and Menelik Watson are so-so (so far), and his first head coach wasn’t fantastic. Oh, and the Raiders aren’t winning.

But there is this glimmer of optimism around McKenzie. His drafts actually haven’t been that bad. That’s a nice bullet point for his resume, right? Well, here are my thoughts on that…

There’s not an exact science to the draft, but those who do it well over time tend to have success – something I think McKenzie is capable of. He wears far too many hats around the building. Mark Davis knows that’s something he absolutely needs to address. But as far as the draft is concerned, I still see McKenzie as an asset. Oddly enough, Reggie’s drafts in Oakland actually stack up well against the 49ers, Patriots, and Broncos in that span.

San Francisco

New England

Denver

 Oakland

A common denominator to all the successful teams above is a home run draft or two – something many believe the Raiders may have already achieved.

Even the best front offices make mistakes and/or stumble upon success. For example, the Patriots passed on Tom Brady six times before taking him with their second pick in the 6th round. The Seahawks whiffed on quarterbacks three times in one year (Matt Flynn being one) before discovering Russell Wilson. The Colts traded a first-round pick for a tackling dummy. The 49ers top two picks in 2012 were A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James.

The Raiders don’t need perfection, but they do need this offseason to be a good one.

Now is Reggie’s last chance. He has a quarterback, money, picks, and an opportunity to hire a coach that can get him off the naughty list. Come to think of it, that’s more than what he had when he started.