Official Las Vegas Raiders Thread

DEFENSE

D-Line: C
07.5 NT: Hankins/Jefferson
11.0 DT: Hurst/Irving/Thomas
10.0 DE: Ferrell/Nassib
11.0 DE9: Ngakoue/Crosby/Key
-The Raiders are pretty stout across the front now. Yes, they could use another pure NT like Hankins, and they could find such a player in the draft. But the other positions are settled and deep.

LB B-
12.0 SAM: Littleton/White
10.0 MIKE: Kwiatkoski
09.0 WILL: Morrow/Muse
-This position is relatively loaded. The starters are all of at least solid quality, and White and Muse give two promising backups. LV could add a MIKE in the draft, too, or look for a stud WILL.

SECONDARY F
07.5 CB: Arnette/Johnson/Nixon
09.0 CB: Mullen/Lawson/Robertson
10.5 FS: Heath
04.5 SS: Abram/Leavitt
04.0 Nickel: Robertson
-Lots of young talent and Heath. Mullen, Arnette, and Johnson have all shown promise, but they must be used correctly. Abram looks like a headhunter who misses a lot, and Robertson was thrown to the wolves. Safety and Corner will likely be addressed in the draft, and the team will need that.

 

Thrilled about Snead coming in. Why? It (hopefully) pushes Zay Jones further from the field.

Passer Rating When Targeted
Bryan Edwards 137.5
Renfrow 107.4
Keelan Doss 106.3
Henry Ruggs 102.1
Agholor 99.8 (including Carr)
Alec Ingold 95.2
Kenyan Drake 94.6
Jalen Richard 94.1
John Brown 93.5
Agholor 92.9 (without Carr)
Willie Snead 89.4
Josh Jacobs 86.8
Theo Riddick 83.7
Zay Jones 72.0

Losing Agholor hurts, but Brown might be an upgrade. And he's considerably cheaper. Snead is a massive upgrade over Jones. In fact, almost anyone who has caught a pass for the Raiders over the last three seasons is a more productive receive than Jones. It's kind of mind boggling how bad Jones has been when targeted.

 

^Secondary C (due to youth plus Leavitt/Nixon), F (because of coaching and weak pass rush)

Jones to you is Brandon Parker to me though the latter did well in most points last season.

 

Quick Update

WR D+ (trending up)
08.0 WR: Ruggs/Edwards
07.5 WR: Brown/Doss/Jones
09.0 WR: Renfrow/Snead
-Snead is promising depth, bolstering the unit. With even reasonable growth from Ruggs and Edwards, this unit could surprise.

 

I understand. There are PFF grades, so take them for what you will.

Incognito 81.4
Hudson 73.6
Miller 72.9
Brown 68.9
Jackson 63.7
James 60
Good 56.7
Martin 56.1
Parker 48.9
Simpson 45.8

Parker was under 50 in each of the last three seasons, including 39.2 in 2019. I do think he has improved as a player but not enough. It's time for a Miller-esque jump.

 

So happy Karl Joseph is back with the Raiders

 

If Guenther was still DC, he'd have Joseph playing slot corner...smh.

 

Not even gonna joke.

Speaking of jokes, Hurst is gone.

 

It's a pretty weird rule, but Brady is a weird dude.

 

"Stayed up for this"...Raiders on the clock.

 

I'm pretty optimistic, but this is terrible drafting. If you like Leatherwood, take him in the 40s.

 

Alex Leatherman
-LONG and athletic dude.

Tape
Looked back at the tape against Notre Dame in the Playoffs. He had a big obvious hold on a rollout to his side. No flag thrown.
Handled some lesser players early (no one obviously NFL bound).
Also had some good reps against Ogundeji, who will likely be drafted on day 3.
Some crushing down blocks.
Sometimes just looks lost - doesn't see anyone immediately so just looks around.
Bama converted a third and one - by a mile - running right behind him.

VIRTUES

SIZE
Wingspan +++
Height
Weight
Frame ++++
Length +++++

ATHLETICISM
Good athlete ++
Bends at the knee +
Athletic upside ++

QUICKNESS
Quick Feet +
Quickness ++
Fast to second level +
Fluid

VERSATILE
Perfect Guard +
Can also play tackle ++

IQ
High football IQ
Head on Swivel +
Adjusts and Climbs +
Vision

RUN BLOCK
On the Move ++

PASS BLOCK
vs. Speed Rush
vs. Edge +
On Screen
Inside
On Island

TOUGHNESS
Toughness
Play Strength
Competitive Toughness
Push Power

FEET
Solid footwork
Moves feet

xxxxx

VICES
TENACITY
Not Mean ----
Settles Early

EXPLOSIVENESS
Strength ---
Not Twitchy

WORK IN PROGRESS
Hand Technique -
Punch is a Push -
Mechanical
Looks Unsure

RANGE
Kick-slide


DRAFT POSITION
Late-First
Borderline 1st ++
Day 2 +++
Boom or Bust

COMPS
The comparisons looks favorable. Russell Okung, Tristan Wirfs, and Cam Erving.

Erving has played six seasons, has started 47 games, and has racked up 24 AV, making him an NFL starter. He had one excellent season (10 AV), two solid seasons (5,6), one subpar season (3), and two seasons with 0 AV. Let's call him a 4 and say he's a low-end NFL starter.

Wirfs slotted in nicely in TB, racking up 11 AV as a rookie.

Okung has posted 76 AV over 11 seasons, including three of 10+, five more seasons at 5+, and only one below 4 (and that was 3). He's an above average to excellent starter who has made two Pro Bowls. Let's call him a 7.

Erving is the only one who hasn't been 60+ routinely on PFF.

 

DAY ONE GRADES
The Leatherwood pick has been graded between B+ and a poor grade (let's call it a D). PFF had him 40th overall.
Mean: C
Mode: C
Median: C
CONSENSUS: C
-He's not a sure thing at tackle, but he could be a good guard as a fallback. That's not a bad contingency.

DAY TWO GRADES
Everyone loves the Moehrig pick. Everyone I see has it as an A+. PFF had him 16th.
Mean: A+
Mode: A+
Median: A+
CONSENSUS: A+
-He's arguably the best Safety prospect in the draft. He can start day 1 in the secondary.

Koonce was a polarizing pick. Draft grades were all over the place. PFF had him 167th but backtracked and called it an average pick despite being 87 picks ahead of their value chart.
Mean: C+
Mode: n/a
Median: C-
CONSENSUS: C
-Right now, he's a third down edge rusher, but the Raiders have Crosby for that. So, he might be a backup third down player. But his upside is a starting edge with excellent upside as a pass rusher.

Deablo's positional uncertainty (do you see the trend?) likely contributed to the wide range on this pick, too. PFF had him 99th on their Big Board.
Mean: C+
Mode: C
Median: C
CONSENSUS: C
-Right now, Deablo is a special teamer who can come in as a big nickel or dime. The Raider see him as an OLB who can cover TEs, like Cory Littleton.

 

Some reactions from two preseason games...
I don't know why Gruden loves Peterman, but he's getting all the reps.
Tanner Muse looks awful. Really disappointing.
Raiders can't tackle.

 

A majority of the starters of note never played. Projected starters that did were Leatherwood, Muse, Moehrig, and Hobbs.

 

Preseason Game 3 was one sided but the Niners played most of their starters against our second and mostly third stringers. The defense will look to play fast and loose no longer burdened with Guenther's complicated schemes. Our linebacking core is decimated though with two starters, an up and comer out. Signing of Perryman was due.

Predicting 10-7. Playoffs a possibility...