Oakland Raiders had themselves a total dumpster fire in the first-round
By Kevin Saito
The Oakland Raiders were in a prime position to address some holes and upgrade the team – and yet, made a puzzling choice in the first-round.
Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie and HC Jon Gruden needed to knock one out of the park in this year’s NFL Draft. And yet, after the first-round, many people are left with the overwhelming sense they hit a soft dribbler back to the mound.
With a pass rush that’s been nearly toothless (outside of Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin, of course) and a defense that’s been abysmal for years, the Raiders, sitting at tenth overall – and thanks to some big surprises higher up the draft board – were sitting pretty. Very pretty.
Sitting at number ten, they had a wide range of prospects to choose from that would have instantly addressed glaring areas of need and upgraded their defense. Tremaine Edmunds was still on the board. Maurice Hurst was too. Derwin James. Joshua Jackson. Minkah Fitzpatrick. Daron Payne.
And on, and on, and on…
So, when the time came and they were on the clock, the Raiders opted to trade down. It wasn’t a huge surprise, McKenzie has been known to trade back. But, in dealing with Arizona, the sense of some, is that he got absolutely fleeced.
In moving back five spots, from ten to fifteen, McKenzie picked up Arizona’s third-round pick (79 overall), and their fifth round pick (152 overall). McKenzie then flipped that seventy-ninth overall pick for Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant – more on that to come later.
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There are plenty of opinions about McKenzie’s trade with Arizona. The sense from many though, is that McKenzie didn’t turn the screws and got a bit of a raw deal. The sense from many is that he didn’t get nearly enough from a team desperate to move up and grab who they believe is a franchise quarterback.
But, hey, whatever. It is, as they say, what it is.
So, now sitting at fifteenth overall, with talents like Edmunds, James, Mike Hughes, Jaire Alexander, and Rashaan Evans, among others, on the board, the Raiders were still in a position to upgrade that defense.
Surely, Gruden and McKenzie were going to address the defensive deficiencies, right? Right?
With everybody primed to hear one of those defensive playmakers’ names called, when the name Kolton Miller was read, you could hear the collective gasp from from the Raider Nation. And immediately following that gasp, you could hear cries, wails, rending of garments, and gnashing of teeth.
Though some like the pick, it seems the majority like it about as much as they like a proctologist with a poor sense of depth perception.
Next: Trading Down For Kolton Miller Was Genius
While it’s true that the Raiders have a need for tackles – Donald Penn isn’t getting any younger, and the right side of the line needs some serious help – Miller seems like an awful stretch at fifteen.
The class of tackles is thin this year. Very thin. Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey was the cream of the crop and the San Francisco 49ers grabbed him at nine – and some believe they may have reached in taking him that high.
After McGlinchey though, the talent level dropped off precipitously. Miller was widely considered the second best tackle prospect in the Draft — but the gap between McGlinchey and Miller was Grand Canyon-esque.
Many think he can be developed into a solid NFL tackle, often drawing comparisons to Nate Solder. But most insist that he’s going to be a bit of a project, and has plenty of issues that need to be addressed.
Though many believe he’ll eventually be a capable starter, nobody considered him to be an elite prospect. And certainly not dominant enough to be taken in the opening round of the Draft.
Most tabbed him to go in the second, possibly even third – though, it was usually with the caveat that some team that needed a potential upgrade at the position could really reach and snag him near the end of the first-round.
That team, as it turned out, was the Raiders. At fifteenth overall.
As far as tackles go, Miller’s obviously got tremendous size. He’s six-foot-nine, 309 pounds. He’s a mammoth mountain of a man. He also put on quite a show at the Combine, running a 4.95 40, and putting up 24 reps on the bench. He showcased elite level athleticism that had some scouts drooling.
Even still, the questions persisted.
Most scouts note that his height make it difficult for him to bend and drop his pad level to take on blockers. His movements aren’t particularly fluid, he doesn’t have a lot of lateral quickness, has average body control, and less than ideal arm length that pass rushers can – and have – taken advantage of.
Scouts have noted also, that despite his size and athleticism, he routinely gets stood up, and is often seen chasing smaller, quicker ends. His technique in both pass and run blocking needs a lot of work, and his hips are normally stiff, his movements disjointed.
If conditions are right and he gets his hands on you, yeah, he can be dominant. But, in the NFL, how often are conditions right all the time?
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The desire to protect quarterback Derek Carr is understandable. Smart, even. Especially given the injuries he sustained in 2016, which ended his year and Oakland’s playoff run – before it had even started. And again last season, when he suffered a transverse process fracture – an injury, it was obvious, hindered him all season.
Given that as Carr goes, the team goes, it’s understandable why McKenzie and Gruden would want to invest in some solid protection for him. It makes sense. Especially given the presence of pass rushing tandems like Von Miller and now Bradley Chubb, and Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, just in their own division.
The problem is that Miller might not be the solution they were looking for. And he certainly wasn’t a very solid value pick at fifteen, given that he very likely would have been there later on down the line.
So, the upshot of the first-round is that the Raiders drafted a tackle with a lot of questions and potential problems at the pro level, and a receiver with a reputation for being a diva and a locker room cancer.
Could Miller pan out? Sure. And if he does, that would be fantastic. If he can solidify the right side of the line this year and slot in for Penn next season and play just as effectively, fantastic. And can Bryant check his ego, buy into what Gruden’s selling, and become a dynamic force in Oakland’s offense next season? Sure, that could happen too.
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And if both things do come to pass, most of us will happily eat that crow. Some of us would even ask for seconds.
But, in a draft that the Raiders couldn’t afford to get it wrong, with a trade it looks like they got taken for a ride in, a prospect that has a lot of warts, and acquiring a receiver with a reputation as a headcase, the first-round has gotten this year off to a less than stellar start in the eyes of many.
With a lot of talent still available to take — and plenty of picks in hand — the Gruden/McKenzie brain trust can still turn things around and improve key areas of this team that need upgrading in the worst way possible. And the Raider Nation is watching, with bated breath, hoping they do.
As far as getting off on the right foot though – the Raiders did not seem to do that. All we can do is hope the decisions being made turn out to be good ones in the long run, because at first blush, it’s looking like a massive dumpster fire so far.