Edweirdo's Oakland Raiders Report

Players I Like for the Raiders in the 2003 Draft

The Raiders top 3 needs:

• Running Back: The Raiders need to infuse some youth into the RB-by-committee. In 2 or 3 years, Crockett, Wheatley, and / or Garner won't be with the team. Aside from Garner, the Raiders do not have a do-it-all back. Both Crockett and Wheatley are power runners and not as adept as receivers. Madre Hill is an explosive back, but he has not seen much regular season action and is an unknown quantity.
• Wide Receiver: In a couple years, Brown and Rice will be retired. The Raiders should take advantage of the mentoring these 2 HOFs offer by bringing in another WR now to learn from them. Porter is a lock for the #1 WR down the line, and I believe Marcus Knight will be a solid receiver. There are many big (6'+, 200+ lb) WRs in this years draft that will cause matchup problems for opposing defenses and enable the Raiders to field 3 solid WRs.
• Defensive End: The Raiders have solid young depth at DE: Bryant, Cooper, Grant. Hopefully Armstrong can play the way he did the last half of last season, when he was incredible. But what the Raiders have lacked is a dominant pass rusher that forces opposing offenses to concentrate on him. I do think that 2002 5th rounder Kenyon Coleman will develop into a stud; he looked good and picked up a sack almost every time he got to play.

Given those needs, here are some thoughts on draft strategy:

• The Raiders won't be able to move up into the top 15-20 picks without giving up an arm and a leg. But there is good depth at the DE and WR positions, so we won't need a top-20 pick to find great value. The Raiders were phenomenally successful last year in leveraging the 21st and 23rd 1st round picks to get Buchanon and Harris, and their 2nd rounders Walker and Jolley really proved themselves (granted, the Raiders had to give up some mid-round picks to move up 4 spots to snatch Buchanon). Given all that, I won't be surprised if the Raiders don't move up much in the 1st round if at all.
• The name of the game for NFL defenses is SPEED. What do standout LBs such as Ray Lewis, Urlacher, Derrick Brooks, Mike Peterson, Donnie Edwards, etc, and Raider players Napoleon Harris and Barton have in common? Tremendous speed and range. The speed of opposing defenses has caused a huge shift in the type of RB that is most successful in the NFL. Big, powerful backs such as the Eddie George's of the world are not as productive in today's game. Marshall Faulk has become the prototypical RB. For more evidence, look at the most productive RBs of last season: Holmes, Portis, Tomlinson, Ricky Williams, Barber, Garner. All are backs that have excellent speed and have above average receiving skills. Ricky Williams dropped 15 pounds and is suddenly turning the corner and making big runs outside. Of course there are other factors (e.g. O-line talent, threat of receiving corps, etc). But the bottom-line is that big backs are no longer the ticket in the NFL. Look at the top RBs drafted last year. Slower power backs William Green and T.J. Duckett were completely overshadowed by Portis. So if the Raiders draft a RB with one of their top 3 picks, it'd be great to get a RB with speed and good hands.

All that said, I would love to see the Raiders pick up 2 players in the 1st round out of the following list of players (in order of preference at each position):

• RB: Lee Suggs (VA Tech), Justin Fargas (USC), or Willis McGahee (Miami). Forget bigger, less agile Larry Johnson (Penn State). Johnson did post a 4.4 40 in an on-campus workout, but that was on a very fast rubber track. Suggs (6', 201, 4.45 40) should be available at the 31st pick and could contribute immediately. He is a Curtis Martin replica: undersized but tough, shifty, productive, and surprisingly effective in the red zone and between the tackles. Suggs had a solid senior year after furiously rehabbing an ACL injury suffered in the first game of his junior year. He used to possess 4.3 40 speed before the injury, so he may continue to regain speed as he fully recovers. He has a great work ethic and is the kind of person you want on your team. In my opinion, Suggs is the safest choice among the RBs. Fargas has freakish speed, power, and size (4.35 40, 220, 27 reps of 225), and had a strong finish to last season. But he is a gamble due to his injury history (including a badly broken leg that required multiple surgeries with metal plates) and lack of playing time. McGahee's rehab is reportedly going well. If you believe he can recover well, he is a tempting target with his great sophomore performance and superb blend of power and speed (220, 4.4 40). But he can't be counted on to contribute in the 2003 season. It typically takes two years to recover fully from an ACL. With the depth at RB with Garner, Wheatley, and Crockett, the Raiders are a team that could afford to wait for McGahee to recover.
• WR: Kelley Washington (Tennessee), Taylor Jacobs (Florida), Tyrone Calico (Middle Tennessee State), or Bryant Johnson (Penn State). This year's WR crop is deep. Charles Rogers (Michigan State) and Andre Johnson (Miami) will definitely be gone in the top 10 picks. There is an outside shot that Jacobs (6', 205, 4.37 40) could fall to the late 1st round with other receivers on the rise. He is a polished receiver with excellent speed. Washington (6'4", 225, 4.45 40) and Calico (6'4", 221, 4.35 40) have incredible size and speed. Washington had a neck injury last season and was initially projected for the 2nd round, but he may have moved up to the #3 WR in the draft because he had an outstanding on-campus workout and showed excellent hands. Calico is raw and is a definite reach in terms of being picked in the 1st round, but he might be gone by the Raiders' 63rd pick. Given the Raiders depth at WR, Calico could spent his first season learning from the best ever. Either Washington or Calico + Jerry Porter would be an imposing pair of WRs in the future and present severe matchup problems for opposing CBs. Bryant Johnson (6'2", 211, 4.55 40) is also a solid prospect and was an effective possession receiver in college, but he lacks dominating speed. Still, he'd make a nice complement to Jerry Porter who is a deep threat. Anquan Boldin (6'2", 225, 4.65 40) is another intriguing prospect. Boldin used to have 4.4 speed and is still recovering from an ACL injury in 2001.
• DEs: Michael Haynes (Penn State) or Chris Kelsay (Nebraska). Terrell Suggs (Arizona State) and Jerome McDougle (Miami) will be gone by the time the Raiders pick. There is an outside shot that Haynes or Kelsay may be available at #31 given that players at other positions have been moving up the board, most notably at QB and WR. Haynes (6'3", 270, 4.78 40) has a good first step and had a monster performance in the Senior Bowl (2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles). Kelsay has good speed (6'4", 270, 4.71 40) and a non-stop motor. He has drawn comparisons to the Rams DE Grant Wistrom.

There has been speculation that the Raiders might spend a 1st round pick on C Jeff Faine (Notre Dame) given the situation with Barrett Robbins. I think that would be a mistake. The Raiders O-line coaching staff has been outstanding since Callahan came on board, and they have consistently coached-up unproven players (e.g. undrafted LT Barry Sims, OT Langston Walker, backup C Adam Treu), so I am confident they we can draft a C in the middle rounds and groom him.

In the later rounds, there are 2 OLBs that deserve mention: Pisa Tinoisamoa (Hawaii, 6', 231, 4.56) and Sam Williams (Fresno State, 6'4", 240, 4.59). Both have good speed for the position. Tinoisamoa has a reputation for being tough. Williams is raw but has excellent athleticism and could develop into a Julian Peterson type. Both could contribute on special teams.

At the end of the day, I trust the Raiders organization to do the right things for the team, be it on draft day and / or free agency. Do you remember the gnashing of teeth last year when OT Walker was picked in the 2nd round when he been projected to go in the 5th round? And how we didn't draft a DT? Well, Walker turned out to be a worthy pick with his rookie starts, and we signed Sam Adams.