Raiders get underwhelming grade for free agency moves
The Las Vegas Raiders have been busy, to say the least. They have been making moves that they feel will make the team better than their 2022 6-11 record. So, naturally, you would think it wouldn't be too hard to get better from that. After the expectations of last season and not getting anywhere near […]
The Las Vegas Raiders have been busy, to say the least. They have been making moves that they feel will make the team better than their 2022 6-11 record. So, naturally, you would think it wouldn't be too hard to get better from that.
After the expectations of last season and not getting anywhere near those, the Raiders had a pretty bad season. So, it can't get too much worse from there.
But, others think the Raiders haven't had much of a successful offseason. Pro Football Focus is one media outlet that actually graded the Raiders pretty underwhelming. They graded the Raiders' first wave of free agency at a C-.
Here is what they thought about all of the Raiders' moves so far:
Garoppolo has missed varying amounts of time during his six seasons with the 49ers, and he has missed significant amounts in four of those seasons. You won’t get a better version of Garoppolo than the one Kyle Shanahan was able to conjure, and the Raiders are guaranteeing more money than Geno Smith received from the Seattle Seahawks.
Epps is a great fit opposite 2021 second-round pick Trevon Moehrig, a rangy, ball-hawking type, whereas Epps excels making plays in the run game and down in the box. Last season, Epps earned an 81.0 PFF run-defense grade, the 11th-best mark among all safeties. The value here is right in line with our projection, and it is solid for a second-tier safety who has shown growth over the last two seasons with room for more.
Meyers is very consistent, with three straight seasons hauling in at least 59 receptions and recording 729 receiving yards — but not eclipsing 866 receiving yards. Touchdown production finally regressed for him, as well, after he set an NFL record with his number of receiving yards prior to hitting paydirt, scoring six times in 2022.
The grade is pretty low, and it should be. It's underwhelming, but I still completely agree with it, and here is why:
In my opinion, every move the Raiders made, besides one, was a downgrade of what they already had before. Jimmy Garoppolo is worse than Derek Carr in terms of talent and skill level, and he just isn't as available as Carr was throughout the years.
They traded away Waller, and rightfully so because he was disgruntled, and got Austin Hooper. Hooper is a good tight end, but not great. He is far below what we have seen Waller do quite a few times.
Jakobi Meyers is the only one I teeter on if it was a downgrade or not. When you compare him and Hunter Renfrow, Meyers makes less money and has been hurt less than Renfrow. While Renfrow is still on the Raiders, a lot of people expect that to change, so, Meyers is looked at as the possible replacement. But, Renfrow, to me, is a better player than Meyers. But hey, availability is key, and he is cheap.
C- is a good grade for this offseason. Honestly, they have underperformed. Luckily for them, they can still make up for that with a solid draft.
You can read the rest of the PFF article here.
