With the Superbowl wrapping up this past Sunday, the NFL offseason is officially here. There is a lot to be excited about for Raider Nation with their move to Las Vegas and a new $1.84 billion stadium on the horizon.
The first two seasons under head coach Jon Gruden have been underwhelming, as the franchise is looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Big decisions are coming for the silver & black, so here are five things to watch for as we move into the 2020 offseason.
Figure out the quarterback position
Head coach Jon Gruden inherited quarterback Derek Carr when he took the job and there has been a lot of speculation if he and GM Mike Mayock will move on from Carr this offseason.
After all, it would only cost $5 million to cut Carr and this is a deep free agency and draft class for quarterbacks.
Carr’s play has regressed since 2015 and 2016 when he was an MVP candidate, however, he is coming off a 2019 season where he threw for 4,054 yards, 21 touchdowns against eight interceptions and completed a career-high 70.4% of his balls.
Gruden and Mayock can either opt to keep Carr, give him more options on the perimeter and continue to build the defense or cut bait altogether if they decide he isn’t the type of player that will elevate a team. Either way, the Raiders need to be all in or all out on Carr headed into 2020.
What will happen with the two first-round picks?
With two picks in the first round (thanks to the Khalil Mack trade) the Raiders will have plenty of options at their disposal on draft night.
That type of draft capital makes you think trading up for a quarterback will be in the cards. However, if the Raiders stay put, I see them going receiver with the 12th pick and then best defensive player available at 19.
Expect names like wide receivers CeeDee Lamb from Oklahoma, Jerry Jeudy from Alabama and Tee Higgins from Clemson to pop up at 12. At 19, I can see linebacker Kenneth Murray from Oklahoma being an option as well as cornerbacks C.J Henderson from Florida and Trevon Diggs from Alabama.
Will there be a big splash in free agency?
We’ve seen Gruden and Mayock go out and get top tier talent in free agency in the past, but will they make a similar move again this offseason?
Names like A.J Green, Emmanuel Sanders, and Robby Anderson are set to hit the market and could solve the team’s wide receiver issue for the time being. On the defensive side, Byron Jones and Bradley Roby would provide an immediate upgrade to a below-average cornerback unit.
Other big names available include defensive studs like Jadeveon Clowney, Everson Griffin, and Dante Fowler Jr.
The Raiders have $54 million in salary-cap space with an opportunity to create more so be on the lookout for them to make some moves in free agency, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Defense should be the focus this offseason
If Derek Carr returns next season, the starting offensive unit is pretty much set for 2020 (aside from finding a No. 1 receiver).
The focus this offseason should be on a defense that showed signs of improvement last season but still finished ranked 24th by years end.
The secondary is a major issue, giving up 257 yards per game and only coming down with 9 interceptions all year. They also gave up a league-worst 8.3 yards per attempt and it didn’t help that safety Jonathan Abram missed virtually the entire season with a torn rotator cuff.
The team's 32 sacks were also amongst the league’s worst and isn’t good enough in today’s pass-happy NFL.
The defensive line has young intriguing talent but hasn’t met expectations up to this point. The linebacking corp is also a question mark with Vontaze Burfict’s future still up in the air and Tahir Whitehead pushing 30.
Expect the Raiders to utilize their cap space and draft capital to bring in some real talent on the defensive side of the ball this offseason.
Comment
Comments