The Oakland Raiders are not yet on the clock, but that doesn't mean they haven't narrowed down their list of potential players to take with the third pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.The Raiders are a team with many needs and not a lot of cap space or draft picks to fill them. With that said, it is especially important for the Raiders to get it right this time.They have to put the days of drafting guys like JaMarcus Russell, Fabian Washington and Rolando McClain in the first round behind them.Here are some candidates for the Raiders' third overall pick. Manti Te'oBefore the ...
Rolando McClain has been arrested in Alabama again, this time for giving a false name to a police officer according to the Seth Burkett of the Decatur Daily. McClain was arrested and convicted by a judge for allegedly firing a gun next to the ear of a friend in 2011, but the conviction was overturned. The Raiders also suspended McClain for two games for conduct detrimental to the team at the end of the season and didn’t activate him for the final two games. The charges against McClain aren’t likely to stick, but the charges aren’t nearly as condemning as ...
Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. My favorite time of the football year: pre-draft discussions!I know, the college football season has just ended but, with the Raiders out of the playoffs, I don't have much else to look forward to. What I do have to look forward to is the fact that Reggie McKenzie finally gets some draft picks. He created a name for himself through the draft and that's what he's expected to do here in Oakland. We'll address the Raider top priorities before I roll out my first mock draft.Begin Slideshow
The first thing that the Oakland Raiders will need to take care of in the 2013 NFL offseason is the status of their own free agents.The Raiders have 17 unrestricted free agents, and while the team struggled significantly in 2012, they would be better suited to bring more of them back than not. Oddly enough, the ones that they likely will not be bringing back are their most tenured veterans, but the tight salary cap situation plays a big part in that.Here is a breakdown of what the Raiders should do with each of their 17 free agents this offseason.Begin ...
The Raiders are still searching for an offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach after firing Greg Knapp and Frank Pollack last week. In less than two weeks the Raiders will travel to Mobile, Ala., to coach the North team in the 2013 Senior Bowl, and it would be helpful to have a complete coaching staff. To this point, the search for an offensive coordinator has been void of any media leaks. There hasn’t been so much as one reported interview, rumored name or educated guess out there. General manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen are keeping an extremely tight lid ...
As the Oakland Raiders look toward the NFL draft in April, there are several free agents that could greatly improve the team.With a new game plan set to arrive to an already talented Oakland offense, the team's main focus in the offseason needs to be defense.That doesn't mean that the offense doesn't need to get better, though. Carson Palmer played well in 2012, but the Raiders failed to put up points on a consistent basis.The defense was a sham for most of the season and some serious needs must be addressed if the team wants any shot at the playoffs ...
Though the Los Angeles Angels now have one of scariest offenses in the game, the race for the AL West may come down to pitching, which is exactly how the Oakland Athletics won the division in 2012. With a team batting average of .238, the A's relied heavily on pitching all season. The Angels finished just four games behind Oakland for the division title. Separate arguments can be made that it was either the slow start by the offense or an inconsistent pitching staff that ultimately clipped the Angels' wings. This offseason, the Athletics made few moves to better themselves, ...
The Oakland Raiders have plenty of needs to fulfill in the upcoming offseason, and most specifically, the 2013 NFL Draft. At this point, the Raiders have just six selections to work with, but trading down or moving current players could change that significantly. While there is certainly something to be said for teams selecting the best player available, this mock draft is based solely on how the Raiders can best address some of their many needs with their current selections. Here are the best possible picks for the Oakland Raiders in their 2013 mock draft.Begin Slideshow
The Oakland Raiders have 17 unrestricted free agents going into 2013 and among them is veteran punter Shane Lechler. On any of 31 teams in the NFL you wouldn't care too much about the contract status of the punter—and that brings us to the 32nd team in the NFL: the Oakland Raiders.The Raiders used their fifth round draft pick on Shane Lechler in 2000—the same year they took Sebastian Janikowski in the first round—and since that draft they have had one of the best special teams units in the NFL. Janikowski, who owns a share of the NFL record for ...
Everyone knows the story by now. Rolando McClain was expected to be the centerpiece of a revamped Raiders defense when he was selected eighth overall in the 2010 NFL draft.He was a centerpiece alright; the centerpiece of the Raiders defense that continued to be below average at best.McClain's career took a further dive as he got into an argument with Dennis Allen and was kicked out of practice and later suspended for two games by the team.Then the situation with McClain went from bad to odd. After speculation that he would be cut by the team, along with fellow linebacker Aaron Curry, McClain was ...