Here are my final grades for the Raiders’ picks in the 2024 NFL Draft: (NOTE: Undrafted FA signings are NOT included in this analysis).
Day 1: A+
Day 2: B+
Day 3: B-
Read MoreHere is where the diamonds in the rough lie. For the New Orleans Saints, they might have gotten one in QB Spencer Rattler in the fifth round, two picks after where I had hoped he would go, to the Las Vegas Raiders. They drafted LB Tommy Eichenburg, who is good against the run but struggles in coverage, instead.
Earlier in the day the team drafted CB DeCamarian Richardson. He was said to be a minor steal at that spot in the draft and he is a zone coverage specialist but he doesn’t do as well in man coverage, which is a Raider trademark.
The team drafted a running back in the sixth round, Dylan Laube. Running backs are a dime-a-dozen.
Lastly, in the seventh round, they drafted Trey Taylor, safety...
Read MoreDay Two of the NFL draft means the best of the rest get picked. For example, the Raiders picked a great offensive lineman in Jackson Powers-Johnson and a serviceable OL in Delmar Glaze.
Powers-Johnson is a larger than average center at Oregon with unbelievable strength and technique. The only reason why he didn’t go in round one is due to injury. The Raiders have to be pleased with this pick. He reminds me of the late Gene Upshaw with how he plays football.
Glaze is a decent tackle who has great pass protection technique but still has some holes in his run blocking technique. His footwork is average at best at this point in his career. Quicker edge rushers can swing him open and get to his QB if he doesn’t improve his footwork. He reminds me of Jermaine Eluemunor.
Read MoreRound 1 last night had plenty of quarterbacks go in the first dozen picks. Six to be precise. That’s a 1 QB for every 2 picks if you’re mathematically disinclined. And there’s 1 in 3 QBs in the first dozen picks who have made me wish dandruff didn’t exist (head scratcher).
QB Draft Grades:
Bears: Caleb Williams A+.
Commanders: Jayden Daniels: A,
Patriots: Drake Maye: A,
Falcons: Michael Penix Jr.: D-,
Vikings: J.J. McCarthy:B-,
Broncos: Bo Nix: D+
Note: The two Ds are for dandruff because they’re making me scratch my head.
In non-QB draft selections, three stand out.
Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt, OT
Las Vegas Raiders: Brock Bowers, TE
Kansas City Chiefs: Xavier Worthy, WR
Biggest Irrelevant Moment of Night One:
JC Latham probably making Roger Goodell see a chiropractor today after lif...
Read MoreWell, well, well, 2022 didn’t go as your humble blogger had hoped, with not only the Raiders finishing 6-11 but a division nemesis winning it all. And if RB Josh Jacobs continues to moan over the franchise tag being put on him, I would find it next to impossible for the Raiders to have a decent season in 2023.
Should they gut 2023 and try to get the 1st overall pick in 2024? No way, no how! Tanking is cheating. If a team tries that, they’re just kidding themselves. How do they know that the player they’d pick #1 isn’t going to be a bust? Teams owe it to their fanbases to try to win every single game. Therefore I oppose the Raiders, or any other team, tanking.
My predictions for the 2023 season are in a separate post down below.
Read MoreMy Picks for the 2023 NFL season:
AFC East Champ: New York Jets
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
AFC WCs: Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, LA Chargers
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North: Detroit Lions
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers
NFC WCs: Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks.
AFC Championship Game: Kansas City over NY Jets
NFC Championship Game: Philadelphia over New Orleans
Super Bowl LVIII Result: Philadelphia over KC
First Overall Pick in ’24 Draft: Arizona Cardinals
Read MoreWell, 2022 didn’t go as expected for the silver and black. Back to the drawing board.
Legend has it that Tom Brady wants to be a Raider. Two days ago I tweeted that if that were to happen I wouldn’t support the team for as long as he was a Raider, but I am having second thoughts… if they re-sign Josh Jacobs at all costs. I’d rather have Brady and Jacobs than no Brady and no Jacobs. But as for the quarterback position goes, I’d rather have Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Garappolo, or Lamar Jackson sign with the Raiders over Brady. Rodgers is still in his prime, Garappolo seems to know only how to win. Lamar Jackson is the most electrifying QB since Randall Cunningham. In terms of financial sense, Jackson is commanding the most and Garappolo would be a bargain.
In terms of the draft, if they get any o...
Last year was a great year. The Los Angeles Rams won it all, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
As far as last season’s pick go, I got seven out of eight division winners correct, missing the AFC North (Cleveland didn’t win, Cincy did). In the wild card predictions, I got two out of six (Las Vegas and San Francisco).
Here are my picks for 2022.
AFC East: Buffalo. NFC East: Philadelphia
AFC South: Indianapolis. NFC South: Tampa Bay
AFC North: Baltimore. NFC North: Green Bay
AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers. NFC West: Los Angeles Rams
AFC Wild Cards: Las Vegas, Tennessee, Kansas City
NFC Wild Cards: Dallas, San Francisco, and Minnesota.
AFC Championship Game: Buffalo over Las Vegas.
NFC Championship Game: San Francisco over Tampa Bay.
Super Bowl LVII: San Francisco over Buffalo
...Read MoreAfter a one year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. As it turned out, this was an unexcused absence. For that I apologize. Tampa Bay won it all last year by defeating Kansas City 31-9 in Super Bowl LV. Jacksonville got the number one overall pick. And Tom Brady continues to defy father time.
And now, without further ado, here are my picks for the 2021 NFL Season.
Division Winners:
AFC East: Buffalo NFC East: Dallas
AFC South: Tennessee NFC South: Tampa Bay
AFC North: Cleveland NFC North: Green Bay
AFC West: Kansas City NFC West: Los Angeles Rams
AFC WC: Las Vegas, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore
NFC WC: Minnesota, New Orleans, San Francisco
Sup...
Read MoreOne more month until the start of spring training. Less than that until pitchers, catchers, and injured players report. Baseball, even without fans in the stands to start, is back. To fully get what baseball should be, one must study the game, present and past.
The smell of the grass. The smell of the wood and pine tar. What about the leather? In wintertime, tropical countries become the focal point of on-field action while in temperate countries off-field activities commence, like scouting, signing, cutting, and trading players.
Baseball is unlike any other sport. There are games every day/night for several months, with limited exceptions. So a team starting 2-15 won’t be out of postseason contention at that point whereas a team that starts 15-2 won’t be a shoe-in for the playoffs.
Read More