In 2010, the Oakland Raiders cleaned up the roster by cutting dead weight like wide receiver Javon Walker and the ineffective quarterback JaMarcus Russell. In the words of former Head Coach, Tom Cable, they “weeded out the knuckleheads.” This year the Raiders will go into the season fresh and vibrant with confident young men who feel they are rising from the ashes of ineptitude and dark comedy. The Raiders are included in the preseason hype of the NFL as a sleeper team as well as a real player in the AFC West. We all know their new Head Coach, Hue Jackson, will motivate some of his youngsters this year. So I’m going to take a closer look at the roster for five young talents who I think could be special for the Raiders this year.
DE Lamarr Houston
Houston played like a man on a mission in the second half of last season. He made the TFDS season Ballers List as honorable mention with his growth and development during the year. He developed from a clown with shoes that were too big into a man who could hold his own and fill those shoes. Houston ended the season with 27 of his 39 total tackles and three of his five sacks in the last seven games. He’s also got one heck of a mentor in Richard Seymour and a solid veteran second option via Tommy Kelly. Houston was one of my favorite sleepers in the 2010 draft class and the Raiders saw his potential and made him their second round pick. On a defensive line with Seymour, Kelly, and 3th round 2009 draft choice, Matt Shaughnessy, Houston will likely find himself in a lot of one-on-ones this year.
S Mike Mitchell
One of the first things I remember about Mike Mitchell after he joined the Raiders is an interview where he said that it would be a dream come true for him to play side by side with teammate Tyvon Branch in the Raiders secondary. Mitchell will have that chance this year. I think he and Branch are talented enough to play both safety positions. But since Branch is from a cornerback background and Mitchell is a better one-on-one tackler, I think Branch should slide over to free safety. Branch is also going to be a third year veteran, so it’s better if he’s calling the secondary shots as Michael Huff did. Look, people have been talking Stevie Brown and Hiram Eugene, but I can’t see Mitchell not making his dream come true given the opportunity.
WR Louis Murphy
Murphy was impressive in his rookie season, but it may have been a mirage because the receiver across the field from him was the ham-fisted Darrius Heyward-Bey. The question last offseason was which wide receiver of those two would the Raiders start across from Chaz Schilens? That question was never answered because Schilens ended up missing the first ten games. So, once again it was Hey-Bey and Murph918. And boy did Louis Murphy show that his freshman year was no fluke. Through the first three games he had 15 catches for 238 yards and a touchdown. Then the inevitable happened: Murphy separated his shoulder. Though he tried to play through it, he found it very difficult. Already in 2011, Murphy has been working to build chemistry with quarterback Jason Campbell. The Raiders should expect big things from Murphy in his second year under Hue Jackson.
OLB Travis Goethel
Goethel was considered a steal by the Oakland Raiders’ staff and they made no bones about it. Prior to the season, Goethel was the front runner to take the weak side linebacker position for the Raiders. But, like Murphy, Goethel was limited due to an injury. His was in his back and reportedly required surgery. He ended up sitting out until week nine and didn’t see the field on defense until a few weeks after he returned. But in his limited field time, he did show some promise that he may be all he was cracked up to be. It’s going to be interesting to see how this weak side linebacker quandary turns out. You’ve still got former starters Ricky Brown and Thomas Howard in the mix, as well as converted defensive end Trevor Scott. But Goethel has the upper hand in the preliminary and if there is anything to what the coaches saw last year, the Raiders could have one heck of a LB corps with solid depth.
WR Jacoby Ford
There’s a chance that the starting receivers for the Raiders could be on this list right now. That is if Hue Jackson can convince Al Davis to look past DHB’s scholarship money. How crazy would it be if the two-fourth round picks — over the last two years — turned out to be starting over the first round pick of 2009? Well, they don’t call him Crazy ol’ Al for nothing. And he didn’t call Jacoby Ford the second coming of Cliff Branch for nothing either. Even Branch conceded from his own lips that Ford was “further along” than DHB. With incoming punt and kickoff returners via the NFL draft, Ford may find himself with more time to work on his route tree as well as with the starting quarterback on the first team offense. We already know he has the hands and the right attitude, now it’s time to see if he’s got the brains and the desire to be great like Branch.
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