Raiders make best of NFL Draft; time will tell how good team is

Not picking until the third round in this year’s NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected Tony Bergstrom with the 95th overall pick to help shore up its offensive line. Along with the selection of Bergstrom, the Raiders used some of their later picks to help beef up the defense, of which struggled heavily last season ranking 29th in the NFL with 27.1 points allowed per game. 

The Raiders drafted Miles Burris, an outside linebacker from San Diego State in the fourth round and Jack Crawford, a defensive end from Penn State in the fifth round to help speed up its pass rush. 

Then, in the sixth and seventh rounds, after taking wide receiver Juron Criner out of the University of Arizona in the fifth round, the Raiders continued to add to their defense. The team selected Christo Bulukidi, a defensive tackle from Georgia State at 189th overall and linebacker Nathan Stupar, also from Penn State as the 230th pick in the draft. 

For a team that lacked both first and second round picks in the draft due heavily to the team’s ex-head coach Hue Jackson’s trade for quarterback Carson Palmer last season, they fared pretty well. 

New Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has been known for his ability to snag late round talents while working for the Green Bay Packers and he hopes to have done the same thing with this draft class. 

It’s been a busy offseason for the Raiders, who have hired McKenzie, head coach Dennis Allen, and a new coaching staff. Along with the cleanup done in the management and coaching staffs, the team’s added a few players through free agency including cornerback Pat Lee and defensive end Dave Tollefson. 

However, the Raiders have let go of several players from last year’s roster including cornerback Stanford Routt, guard Cooper Carlisle, and defensive tackle John Henderson. 

It is not necessarily a huge makeshift of the roster that’s in need for the Raiders as much as it is a change in the team’s mindset and philosophy, of which Allen and McKenzie believe they can restore. 

The health of running back Darren McFadden is key if the
Raiders are to return to the playoffs in 2012.

Particularly on offense this team has talent. Palmer returns for a full season in Oakland and the Raiders will welcome back star running back Darren McFadden, who missed the last nine games of the 2011 season due to a foot injury.   

McFadden is the centerpiece of the team’s offense but other weapons exist, take the wide receiving core for instance, there lies Denarius Moore, Darius Heyward-Bey, and Jacoby Ford. 

The Raiders have the arguably the best specialists in the game with kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler. It is pretty apparent that this team can and will score points especially with a healthy return of McFadden, meaning the fate of the upcoming 2012 season will be decided heavily on defense. 

Allen and his background as a defensive coordinator should help the cause for the Raiders however other variables are involved here. Do the Raiders have enough talent and just good football players on their defense? 

We know they have a good safety in Tyvon Branch and a very talented linebacker in Rolando McClain, though he has had attitude and legal troubles throughout his career. Outside of these two this Raiders defense lacks playmakers but only time will tell and soon enough we’ll all be able to see just how good of a coach Allen is. 

The Raiders are a team that is hungry to win and make the playoffs following two straight 8-8 seasons. If Allen and his staff prove to be the right fits the Raiders should have a good shot at accomplishing this feat; if not, the team will continue its long playoff drought.