Oakland Raiders’ Reggie McKenzie Must Not Paint Himself into a Corner
By Kevin Saito
The Oakland Raiders sure have had a lot of turnover in their secondary over the last half decade or so. Since 2011, the Raiders have the distinction of having a different pair of starting cornerbacks in each and every season. They will again have a new set of corners in 2015, but the Raiders and GM Reggie McKenzie hope that this pair will be manning the defensive backfield for some time to come.
Picked up last offseason from the San Francisco 49ers, Carlos Rogers and Tarell Brown were supposed to provide a little bit of a boost and an edge in Oakland’s defensive backfield. While they were never projected to be shutdown corners, McKenzie and the organization hoped that they’d at least be able to fill in and provide some solid defensive work for a secondary that hadn’t had that in quite some time.
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Rogers never lived up to expectations and spent the majority of the season on injured reserve. Brown was good but wasn’t great. He did provide some solid defense, but also ended up battling injuries of his own.
Both veteran corners were signed to one-year “show me” deals in Oakland, and apparently, McKenzie has seen enough. McKenzie made the announcement that he did not intend to re-sign the veterans and was content to let them both hit the open market.
“I’m going to let those guys hit the market and we’ll see what happens there. We like what our young corners have done. I think veterans like that are here on the team to bring those young guys along. And I think they kind of did that. Carlos was a savvy veteran that they leaned on. Tarell did a good job with those guys. I think it’s their turn.”
The departure of Brown and Rogers means that youngsters D.J. Hayden, Travis Carrie, and Keith McGill are going to be stepping into the starting roles for the Raiders. The team may also attempt to retain restricted free agents Chimdi Chekwa and Neiko Thorpe – both of whom played sparingly, but did impress the coaches.
Dec 28, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden (25) interferes on a pass intended for Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (10) in the third quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 47-14. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
All of this means that the Raiders’ secondary – with the exception of veteran safety and timeless wonder, Charles Woodson – will be very, very young. While Oakland’s young defensive backs have tremendous upside – Carrie was an absolute gem of a find in the seventh round – they still need a tremendous amount of polish.
2014 fourth round pick McGill played very sparingly last season and seemed far behind Carrie developmentally. Carrie showed flashes of brilliance, but did have some of the consistency issues you’d expect a rookie to have. And Hayden for the second straight year, battled injuries that cost him a considerable chunk of the season. Though he, like Carrie, showed off some terrific skills at times, he was plagued by inconsistency, and had a tendency to get burned over the top on quite a few plays. Because of injuries, Hayden’s development is way behind the curve, and he’s yet to show himself worthy of the first round pick McKenzie used on him.
But McKenzie has said that he’s done bringing in veteran stop-gaps, and is banking on all three players to make that leap into NFL-ready cornerbacks in 2015.
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“My point is, I don’t think you need that old cagey, savvy veteran to help bring along. I think they’re at a point now where they played, I’ve got Charles Woodson in the room, they got to understand that this is how we approach the game, this is how we’re going to approach each play. I don’t need that particular guy.”
While the confidence he’s showing in his young corners is terrific and can only serve to boost their confidence, McKenzie is potentially painting himself into a corner that he might not be able to get out of.
With the talent and potential of all three players, McKenzie probably shouldn’t break the bank on a free agent veteran corner. But he should probably strongly consider bringing in a reasonably priced veteran corner, if for no other reason, than to provide a little insurance in case of injury – because neither Hayden nor Carrie have proven they can make it through a full season healthy just yet.
The other problem comes with their level of experience. Hayden, having played in only eighteen games over his two NFL seasons, still has much to learn about playing the corner. Darrelle Revis, he is not. Both McGill and Carrie, having just completed their first season as a pro, have plenty of talent and upside, but lack the experience and savvy necessary for the position. The Legion of Boom they are not.
Not yet, anyway.
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It could be that all three are able to stay healthy and are able to make the leap to the next level. It could be that all three use 2015 as a springboard to become elite NFL corners. McKenzie certainly seems to think that all three have the potential and the ability. And based on some of their performances last season, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
But an insurance policy would be nice. If, for whatever reason, be it injury or ineffectiveness, McKenzie should strongly consider bringing in a veteran cornerback to back up the youngsters. Somebody who is comfortable being a role player, and being that “just in case” guy on the roster. While he shouldn’t spend wildly on a cornerback, he must consider spending something on one.
All three players, Hayden, Carrie, and McGill, could be elite level players. They could be the foundation of a fierce Oakland secondary – the likes of which we haven’t seen since the days of Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes – for many years to come. But McKenzie must also plan for the worst case scenario and bring in a veteran or two to man the position in case it all goes sideways and the youngsters regress.
If the youngsters falter, and they have no capable backups, it could be a very long season in which the Raiders defense gets picked apart by mid-level quarterbacks. Again.
To avoid that fate, McKenzie needs to stash a couple of reliable veterans on his roster and save them for a rainy day.