Oakland Raiders: Losses By Division Rivals May Be Team’s Biggest Gain

The Oakland Raiders have vastly upgraded the talent in some key areas and look poised to make some noise in the AFC West – but perhaps their biggest gain are the losses suffered by their division rivals.

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Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has had a pretty terrific offseason so far. He’s addressed some of the glaring holes on the team by bringing in some proven talent. The team has been vastly upgraded in some very key areas – upgrades that will help the team move to the next level. But as much as Oakland has improved this offseason, it’s the losses suffered by their division rivals that may prove key to helping this team get back to the top of the heap in the AFC West.

The Raiders entered the offseson needing to upgrade the talent along the offensive line. It was an offensive line that performed pretty well in 2015 – being ranked sixth best in the league by Pro Football Focus. But there was no question that it was a unit that still had room to improve – especially in the run blocking department.

McKenzie addressed the team’s need for improvement by letting J’Marcus Webb – who spent time at guard and tackle for the team – walk away as a free agent. McKenzie then turned around and signed one of the best offensive lineman on the market – Kelechi Osemele – to a pretty lucrative deal. And it took a little bit of time, but McKenzie was also able to bring stalwart Donald Penn back into the fold on a two year deal, all but ensuring that he will end his career in Oakland.

There is no question that an offensive line made up of Penn, Gabe Jackson, Rodney Hudson, Osemele, and either Menelik Watson or Austin Howard at the right tackle spot is a much more formidable, much more fearsome group. It’s a group that can absolutely control the line of scrimmage and help take the offense to another level.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Raiders ended their 2015 campaign with one of the worst secondaries in all of football. The unit got better once the team acquired David Amerson, but inconsistent play from their other corners – a group that included Keith McGill, Travis Carrie, and popular punching bag D.J. Hayden – led to Oakland’s defense being lit up again and again throughout the season.

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McKenzie addressed the need for a second, reliable cornerback to pair with Amerson by signing Sean Smith away from the Kansas City Chiefs. A tandem of Amerson and Smith immediately improves the secondary – a unit that will need some help after the retirement of the legendary Charles Woodson. For the first time in a long time, the Raiders have two legitimate corners who can help shut down opposing offenses and put some more teeth into this defense.

In 2015, the Raiders improved their pass rush, going from an incredibly paltry 22 sacks in 2014, to a more respectable 38 in 2015 – and standout Khalil Mack led the way last year with his 15 sacks. This year, that sack total figures to improve with the addition of Bruce Irvin. Oakland’s coaching staff loves Irvin’s speed, aggressiveness, and his versatility. Irvin said that the Seahawks never really tapped his pass rushing potential.

But DC Ken Norton Jr. knows Irvin well from his time as his position coach in Seattle and will undoubtedly tap into his pass rushing potential. Irvin makes a fantastic bookend to Mack and will undoubtedly free him up to make even more plays. And if Mario Edwards Jr. is able to come back from a neck injury sustained last season and the team opts to re-sign Aldon Smith once his suspension ends in November, look for the Raiders to have one of the fiercest pass rushes in the NFL.

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Though Oakland’s moves and acquisitions this offseason have made them a far better team than they were in 2015, the losses suffered by their division foes is what may ultimately lead the team to the top of the pile in the AFC West.

The Denver Broncos have undoubtedly been weakened the most by free agent departures this offseason. Safety T.J. Ward recently said that despite the team’s losses, the defense is again going to lead the way to victory for Denver.

"“But defensively, we have one mindset: No one scores. So if we continue to do that, continue to prepare and dominate on the defensive side, then we’ll be all right.”"

Denver’s defense will probably still be pretty good, but the unit is undoubtedly going to feel the loss of Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan. Probably a lot more than Ward thinks it will.

But it’s their losses on the offensive side of the ball that are going to hurt the Broncos the most – specifically the losses of quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. The Broncos have beefed up their offensive line with the addition of Russell Okung and Donald Stephenson, but with Mark Sanchez the presumed starter at this moment, the prospects for this offensive unit are less than favorable.

Ward has perhaps inadvertently expressed his lack of faith in the offense given the team’s dire quarterback situation – a sentiment that was also echoed by running back C.J. Anderson.

"“Whenever you don’t have a quarterback, it’s going to impact a team…. But we got to find someone back there. Right now I think we have Mark Sanchez signed and he has some experience in this league.”"

The San Diego Chargers haven’t done much during the free agency period. Their big ticket deals include plucking receiver Travis Benjamin from the Browns and signing cornerback Casey Hayward away from the Packers. Other than that, they’ve been relatively quiet and haven’t really addressed some of their critical areas.

It’s San Diego’s losses though, that are going to doom this team to another season at or near the cellar in the AFC West. Gone are safety Eric Weddle, cornerback Patrick Robinson, tight end Ladarius Green, and wide receiver Malcolm Floyd.

Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates are both a year old – and not necessarily a year better. The Chargers lack depth along the offensive line and there are question marks all over their defense. Not to mention the fact that the Chargers had the league’s thirty-first ranked running game in 2015 and there are no indications that it will be better in 2016.

Then there are the Kansas City Chiefs. They were a team that surprised a lot of people last year – starting the season 1-5 and then running off ten straight wins and winning a playoff game. Their performance last year has a lot of folks thinking that they may be the class of the AFC West.

But they’ve had a mixed bag this offseason and got some potentially devastating news – news that has a direct bearing on their hopes for 2016.

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Last year, Kansas City was a team that relied heavily upon their defense for their success. The Chiefs had the league’s twenty-seventh ranked offense – but the seventh ranked defense. Despite solid, productive seasons from Alex Smith, Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce, Charcandrick West, and Spencer Ware, Kansas City rode their defense to success.

The Chiefs will be a bit better on offense with the addition of receiver Rod Streater to complement Maclin, but with the free agent departures of starting offensive linemen Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson, Kansas City’s line – already suspect after a less than stellar 2015 – looks to be even worse heading into this season.

But the losses on defense are going to have a significant impact on this team in 2016. They’ve lost cornerback Sean Smith to the Raiders and safety Tyvon Branch to the Cardinals. They also lost a signficant contributor in Husain Abdullah. They have retained some key pieces like Tamba Hali and Eric Berry, but the loss of Smith is going to sting them pretty badly, especially if Marcus Peters – whom many believe benefitted greatly from Smith’s presence on the other side of the field – isn’t able to elevate his game even further.

And perhaps the biggest blow to the Chiefs this offseason, is the news that arguably, their best player on defense – outside of Berry – Justin Houston, might miss the entire 2016 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.

Despite missing five games in 2015, Houston still led the team with 7.5 sacks. The pass rush begins and ends with Houston. The defense feeds off of him. And outside of the 32 year old Hali, the Chiefs don’t have any options at the moment, who can step into Houston’s shoes and lead this defensive unit.

Losing Smith was a big blow to the Chief’s defense. Potentially losing Houston for the year would be devastating to them. And given the importance of the defense to the team’s success, especially given their low offensive ranking, it very well might be too much for them to overcome.

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The Raiders have taken tremendous strides on their own this offseason. With their free agent additions – not to mention having a year in the systems and schemes put in place by HC Jack Del Rio, DC Norton, and OC Bill Musgrave under their belts, the Raiders are a team on the rise.

They’re a team that could have competed with their division foes even at full strength. But the losses suffered by their AFC West rivals certainly aren’t going to hurt their prospects in 2016 either.