Oakland Raiders: Five Worst Draft Day Whiffs Of The Reggie McKenzie Era

Oakland Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie has the team relevant again and is developing into one of the league’s better executives – although, he’s not without his share of Draft Day whiffs.

Hating on Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie seems to be a pastime for some. Despite the fact that he’s the reigning NFL Executive of the Year, that he has the Raiders relevant again for the first in a decade and a half, and has the team being talked about as a potential Super Bowl contender, there are some who continue to refuse to give him any credit.

McKenzie’s critics give him little to no credit despite having a foundation that centers around young talent like Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper, and Gabe Jackson. Critics like to say that he got lucky that Carr and Mack simply fell into his lap and drafting them took no effort on his part – ignoring the fact that since Carr was a second round pick, every team in the league passed on him.

The Texans, Cowboys, and Browns in fact – all of whom arguably, could have used a quarterback – passed on him twice.

And as far as free agents go, he still gets very little credit in some quarters, despite bringing in high value guys like Kelechi Osemele, Bruce Irvin, and Michael Crabtree among others. Overpaid for them, his critics like to claim.

Whether his detractors and critics will admit it or not – spoiler alert, they won’t – McKenzie has done a tremendous job of rebuilding this team. He’s helped take it from laughingstock to potential perennial powerhouse. And he’s done it through a combination of solid free agent pick ups and smart, savvy draft picks.

None of this is to claim though, that McKenzie has hit the sweet spot with everything he’s done. Far from it. He’s most certainly made some bad decisions and has had some missteps along the way.

And that can be seen most clearly in some of his draft picks. Now, drafting is a wholly inexact science. Every single year, guys projected to be studs at the NFL level flame out and others seemingly come out of nowhere to be stars. You just don’t always know exactly what you’re getting when you put somebody’s name down on that draft card.

McKenzie gets a pass on his first season at the helm – 2012. Thanks to Hue Jackson, his slate of draft picks was winnowed down to almost nothing. So, beginning with his first full slate of draft picks in 2013, let’s take a look at a few of McKenzie’s biggest draft day whiffs.