Raiders listed as a team that has to ace their draft picks
The Las Vegas Raiders had a huge offseason last season. I mean, they went and got the best receiver in football, and even grabbed Chandler Jones. But, the draft wasn't the best, to say the least. This year, they have absolutely killed the offseason, so far. They have made moves that will benefit the team […]
The Las Vegas Raiders had a huge offseason last season. I mean, they went and got the best receiver in football, and even grabbed Chandler Jones. But, the draft wasn't the best, to say the least.
This year, they have absolutely killed the offseason, so far. They have made moves that will benefit the team in 2023, and definitely make them better on paper. They got guys that know the system and guys who are familiar with the coaches.
The Raiders have the seventh pick in the draft and have 12 total picks and can still finish the offseason on a good note by hitting on these picks. One NFL analyst thinks the Raiders need to get this draft right, almost more than any other team.
Josh McDaniels has already let go of the franchise QB (Derek Carr) and traded away the star tight end (Darren Waller). He took a team that scrapped its way into the playoffs (and nearly took down the Bengals two years ago) and stumbled to a six-win season, losing to the Colts in Jeff Saturday's debut and to the Rams and Baker Mayfield two days after he joined the team. One win was pretty much lateralled to them by the Patriots. So things are a bit dicey, even with the additions of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jakobi Meyers and the retention of Josh Jacobs. The Raiders are tied for most picks this year with 12, although eight of those land outside the top 100. But with the Davante Adams trade sapping their draft-pick allotment last year, every one of the 2023 selections will count more heavily this time around. The Raiders badly need an influx of talent. They need offensive line help. The defense can't stop good quarterbacks, which is a problem in the AFC West. Oh, and they'd ideally be on the lookout for a young QB to develop behind Garoppolo. That's a lot of areas that still need addressing. Owner Mark Davis has voiced his confidence in McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler to get his team back to the postseason, but without gaining some real help from this draft class, things could turn dire in a hurry.
If the Raiders want to hit this draft perfectly, they need to focus on defense. That is the biggest issue with their team, the defense was one of the worst in the league last year. On paper, their offense looks set, besides maybe some depth pieces here and there.
The defense needs help at every position. If there was one position that needed the least amount of help, it's the edge position, which still needs some depth. They need interior defense after losing Andrew Billings. They need linebackers, and they definitely need secondary players.
Luckily for the Raiders, this draft is extremely deep at almost every defensive position. If this is the year to ace it, they are set up for success.
