Heading into the “Black Hole“, Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie is determined to incorporate a better future for the team. He is ready to place the right people in place to guide him there.
Come draft night, McKenzie and his head coach Dennis Allen will do exactly that. Place the pieces together for the future with good character and young talented players.
Don’t expect the same attributes of Raiders past decisions to come into place. This an entire new regime of new ideas and building blocks to strive for the future to become the hated ones of the NFL not the guinea pigs.
The media have indulged in this especially in the NFL draft since Jamarcus Russell smudged his hands on the walls. The mainstream media loves making fun of the Silver and Black on draft day and at times they have gone as far as making fun of the player themselves.
Nonetheless this is a new beginning and Raiders will move forward. The Raiders have many needs going in 2013 season especially on the defensive side of the ball as the unloaded the high salaries of overpriced veterans like DT Richard Seymour, DT Tommy Kelly, S Michael Huff, DE Matt Schannessy and problem child OLB Rolando McClain.
The future here it is minus any trades that may happen come Thursday evening in Radio City Music Hall.
1-3. Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEi7AB8yGI8]Oakland finished next-to-last in the league in sacks last season. Enter Dion Jordan, arguably the top outside pass rusher in this year’s draft. But as amazing as the draft is the Raiders can land the favorite here, DT Sharif Floyd out Florida as well or decide to trade down to pick up more picks later in the draft.
3-66 Brandon Williams, DT, Missouri Southern
Just the third player in Division II history to be recognized as a three-time All-American, Williams earned an opportunity to prove himself against the nation’s élite at the Senior Bowl and turned he turned heads. Allen and his staff get a needed run stopper they and Williams will blend in very well in Oakland hybrid defensive attacks it’s exactly what he’s built for.
4-100 Will Davis, CB, Utah State
This off-season, Davis was on coach Allen’s team during the Senior Bowl and Allen has followed Davis ever since, at the NFL Combine and on Utah State’s Pro-Day, where on each occasion Davis has excelled.
Davis had an outstanding Senior season and finished with a total of (21) passes defended, (16) passes broken up and (5) interceptions, while finishing up with a total of (56) tackles. He might be a sleeper pick and an answer as a starter in the Raiders’ secondary.
6-172 Jeff Tuel, QB, Wasington St.
The Raiders seem to have ruled Matt Flynn as the franchise quarterback for now but Tuel would be an excellent choice for the Raiders, as a backup, if they are not Terelle Prior fans. Tuel is a system quarterback and can blend into Dennis Allen’s offense quite well once developed. Allen and his staff got familiar with Tuel during the Senior Bowl week in February.
6-176 Ryan Otten, TE, San Jose State
The Raiders were scouting Otten, long before everyone saw him flash the crowd at the Senior Bowl. He may have missed the combine drills due to a serious staph infection, but the Raider staff was able to see more of Otten at San Jose State’s Pro-Day. The team’s staff came away impressed but weren’t alone, as others around the NFL saw his solid tight-end skills. With him healthy again, he’s been able to show his quickness and great blocking skills that will take him far in his career in the NFL.
6-209 Miguel Maysonet, RB, Stoney Brook
A riser to watch this year at the draft, is RB Miguel Maysonet, out of Stony Brook, who had an impressive Pro Day. He’s being compared to last year’s draft sensation, Alfred Morris. The Raiders would like their offense built around Darren McFadden and the running game and another force in the backfield would be welcomed.
7-205 Ray Polk, S, Colorado
Polk excited scouts on his Pro-Day, despite not getting an invite to the combine, due to the injury he suffered to his ankle earlier in the season.
Now at 100%, he is ready to go and certainly made a name for himself at his Pro-Day with great numbers for safety and he worked well with the scouts, who ran the position drills with him.
He ran the 40 in 4.38 seconds and if he were at the combine, that would place as one of the top at safety. Prior to his injury with the Buffaloes, he was a tackling machine in the secondary and in 2011 he racked up 69 total tackles in 11 games.
But let’s not ignore the fact that his father Raymond Polk played for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and was selected in the same class in 1985 as McKenzie, which means that he is a virtual lock to play for the Oakland Raiders.
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