Oakland Raiders: Fans Need To Trust The Man And Trust In The Plan

Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie spent the first day of free agency – napping? – much to the chagrin of the Raider Nation – but fans need to take a deep breath and trust the man and his plan.

The 2017 free agency derby has finally arrived and Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie was – well – quieter than a church mouse. And as several of Oakland’s own unrestricted free agents walked out the doors, you could hear the sound of the Raider Nation clutching their pearls and gasping as McKenzie remained MIA.

If you’re scoring at home, the Raiders body count so far, includes Stacy McGee, Malcolm Smith, Daren Bates, Brynden Trawick, and D.J. Hayden. The only loss that’s really going to sting is that of McGee, who was Oakland’s best interior defensive lineman – when he was healthy last season.

But of the other losses, Oakland needed an upgrade over Smith. And though they were terrific on special teams – where they saw the vast majority their action in Silver and Black – Trawick and Bates can be replaced. And Hayden – well – that’s just addition by subtraction.

More than the departures though, what has some fans freaking out are the names that have been coming off the board all day. Calais Campbell. A.J. Bouye. Tony Jefferson. There has been no shortage of names signing elsewhere that could have been good fits in Oakland.

But a lot of those names are also signing deals that are incredibly pricey and although Oakland entered the free agency period with the ninth most money to spend in the league, they really didn’t. Not with the high dollar contracts (see: Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, Gabe Jackson) currently on their plate.

Still, the lack of movement on the free agency front is creating a ton of angst among the Raider Nation. “Why hasn’t he signed anybody yet?!?!” seems to be a common refrain.

But this is where patience is a virtue – trust the man and trust the process.

When McKenzie took his spot in the big seat, he’s preached patience, restraint, and finding solid value. It’s a process that’s worked – look at the results. McKenzie took over a team that was well beyond floundering and had zero direction. This is now a playoff team with a solid foundation built to have success for the long term.

And he’s attained that level of success, in part, by not chasing the “big names” and throwing exorbitant amounts of money at them. Is there anybody out there who thinks he would have paid Mike Glennon $15 million a year?

McKenzie has built this playoff team by crafting responsible contracts that still allows a player to get paid, but also making sure the team has flexibility to continue improving and upgrading. And he’s also done a fantastic job of finding solid value for his dollars.

He’s also done a great job of making players earn their paycheck. With a lot of guys, he’s essentially given them “prove-it” type deals. Those who prove it, get paid on their next deal. (see Michael Crabtree). Those who don’t, walk (see: Malcolm Smith).

Let’s also not forget McKenzie’s oft-stated preference to build through the draft rather than chase free agents. And so far, given the fact that we’ve landed the likes of a Carr, Mack, Amari Cooper, Jackson – it seems fair to say that McKenzie has done pretty well on that front. He’s primarily built this team on savvy, smart draft picks.

No, not every draft pick has worked out (see: Hayden). And yes, he’s augmented areas of weakness with established veterans (see: Sean Smith, Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson, et al.). But that’s how you build a team – up-and-coming talent blended with wily veterans – mix them all together and what do you get?

In this case, a 12-4 playoff team that still hasn’t come close to reaching their ceiling.

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McKenzie’s process has worked – it is working. So rather than clutching our pearls and bemoaning the fact that we haven’t signed anybody – and appear to be bleeding out players (players who weren’t a priority to re-sign anyway) – trust McKenzie. And trust in his process.

There are still a couple of big names floating out there and McKenzie might surprise us by snatching one or two (see: Dont’a Hightower, Zach Brown). But expect him to continue building this team the way he’s done from day one – through the draft with affordable veteran options blended in.

Trust McKenzie. He’s got this.