Oakland Raiders need to fix their scouting process before the NFL Draft

The Oakland Raiders have some issues they must address – most notably their deficiencies when it comes to identifying and drafting young talent.

With the return of Jon Gruden, the Oakland Raiders are looking to build on the foundation of success that former HC Jack Del Rio started to build. But if there is one area they need to get right sooner, rather than later, it’s in identifying and evaluating young talent.

With a few pressing areas of need, the Raiders find themselves in a decent enough position to begin addressing them. Selecting either ninth or tenth in the Draft – depending upon the outcome of a coin flip with the San Francisco 49ers – the Raiders should be in good position to grab a player who could have an impact on day one.

The question though, becomes – who can we trust to make the call and be sure it’s the right one?

Let’s be honest for a moment, neither Jon Gruden nor Reggie McKenzie has a sterling record of evaluating and drafting talent. In fact, truth be told, both men at the top of Oakland’s food chain have a rather spotty Draft record.

McKenzie gets a lot of credit for taking impact guys like Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, and Amari Cooper. And deservedly so. All three are foundation pieces this team’s future successes will be built upon.

Beyond those three though, McKenzie’s Draft record really isn’t much to write home about.

It’s too early to properly assess the 2017 Draft class, so we’ll just call it incomplete for now. Although, it should necessarily be noted that the rookie class for other teams – like say, the New Orleans Saints – have had a huge impact on their team’s successes this season. However, we’ll throw it out for the moment and take some time before making a full evaluation.

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Looking back over McKenzie’s draft history – Carr, Mack, and Cooper aside – who has he drafted that’s had any sort of a special impact for this team?

His very first draft pick ever was D.J. Hayden, and we all know how that turned out. He’s picked up a few nice pieces along the way like Gabe Jackson, Clive Walford (he’d be an even better piece if ever used properly), and Karl Joseph.

But those positive adds are negated by the likes of a Max Valles, Andre Debose, Tyler Wilson, Shilique Calhoun, and Jihad Ward.

McKenzie has taken some good players, but he’s taken far more who can only be called “serviceable.” At best. Some can’t even clear that low bar.

Turning our attention to Gruden, his track record in drafting talent is even worse than McKenzie’s. In his time in Tampa Bay, where he had far more influence over who the team drafted, the real impact players he helped bring the the Buccaneers were few and far between.

He got notorious chain snatcher and all-around, bush league punk Aqib Talib out of Kansas in 2008. There are a few names over Gruden’s tenure in Tampa Bay that are recognizable – Cadillac Williams, Chris Simms, and Bruce Gradkowski top among them – but Tampa’s draft classes during Gruden’s tenure were largely forgettable.

So, what does this all mean? It means the Raiders need some serious help in the scouting and personnel departments.

With the NFL Draft a few months off yet, they still have some time to get some people in place to help identify and evaluate talent that can help this roster. Frankly, they need to bring people in they can rely on – people not named Raleigh McKenzie – who can put together a solid Draft Board.

McKenzie’s genius is in his ability to navigate the turbulent waters of the salary cap and in structuring contracts. He pulled this Raiders team out of salary cap hell and put them on stable footing, allowed them to build for the future.

He’s also done a pretty solid job of building a team through free agency as well as snatching up some solid UDFA’s who’ve turned into big contributors for this team.

Next: Looking At Roster Needs And Potential Draft Fits

Gruden’s genius is in running a team. In developing the talent he has on hand. In motivating and firing up his squad. And in getting the absolute most out of a player he can. He helped turn journeyman and career backup Rich Gannon into a legitimate MVP – at 37 years old.

Gruden knows how to maximize the talent on the roster and knows how to outscheme other coaches – skills we have to hope he’s honed and sharpened over the last decade.