Tag: 126631

HENDERSON, Nev. — While we’ve already addressed the Las Vegas Raiders‘ overall draft woes of late — only six of their 68 draft picks from 2012-19 have been signed to second consecutive contracts and just three of their first-round draft picks since 2005 have been signed to extensions — there has been a bright spot.

As in … a silver lining to a decidedly black cloud.

Because for every JaMarcus Russell, Rolando McClain, D.J. Hayden and Gareon Conley as first-round flops, the Raiders have unearthed midround gems such as defensive tackle Justin Ellis, defensive end Maxx Crosby, receiver Hunter Renfrow and cornerback Nate Hobbs.

Call it a certain sweet spot.

And since the Raiders do not have a selection in this year’s draft until the third round at No. 86 overall — the first- and second-round picks went to the Green Bay Packers for receiver Davante Adams — the challenge for the new regime of general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels is to keep that pluck (luck?) going.

Good thing Ziegler believes this year’s draft has quality depth, then, right?

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“I think when you find players in the midrounds that ultimately develop into core contributors for your team, there’s a level of pride in finding those guys because … there’s always the kind of the players that have risen to the top for one reason or another,” Ziegler said at his recent pre-draft media conference.

“Not that all those players pan out. We know that they don’t.”

As such, Ellis was taken in the fourth round at No. 107 overall in 2014 by the regime of GM Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen and played five years for the Raiders. Crosby (fourth round, No. 106 in 2019), Renfrow (fifth round, No. 149 in 2019) and Hobbs (fifth round, No. 167 in 2021) were selected by coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock.

Ellis has continued to produce, having spent the past three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before signing with the New York Giants this spring. Crosby, the defensive MVP of the most recent Pro Bowl, just inked a four-year, $94 million extension with the Raiders on March 11 after racking up 25 sacks in his first three seasons and leading the NFL with 108 total pressures this past season, per Pro Football Focus.

Renfrow is also in line for a new deal after catching 103 passes in 2021, the second-highest single-season total by a receiver in franchise history behind the 104 receptions Hall of Famer Tim Brown had in 1997. Hobbs was PFF’s highest-graded cornerback when lined up in the slot last season with a grade of 81.5.

Yeah, those are foundation pieces, players the Raiders found on Day 3 of the draft.

The New England Patriots also had success with Day 3 finds during Ziegler’s time in the Patriots’ personnel department. Since he was hired by New England in 2013, the Patriots have found players such as running back James White (fourth round, 2014), defensive end Trey Flowers (fourth round, 2015), guard Shaq Mason (fourth round, 2015), guard Ted Karras (sixth round, 2016), defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (fourth round, 2017), guard Mike Onwenu (sixth round, 2020) and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (fourth round, 2021) on the final day of the draft.

Again, unless the Raiders trade up into the first or second round — “Always a chance for a trade,” Ziegler said with a grin — his regime will again have to make its hay late in those middle rounds.

And keep this in mind — Ziegler reiterated McDaniels’ philosophy of drafting the best player available, regardless of position.

“I mean, if we draft three [players] in the same position in a row, because they’re clearly the three best players when it’s our turn to draft, I mean, you make a strength stronger,” McDaniels said at the NFL owners meetings last month.

The Raiders’ biggest strengths are at the offensive skill positions and their pass-rushers, positions that will be the most sought-after in the early rounds. So perhaps quality players at their biggest positional needs of offensive line and cornerback can still be found in those middle rounds.

Plug-and-play guys? It worked for Ellis, Crosby, Renfrow and Hobbs, and remember, Ziegler lauded the depth of this draft.

“You’re judged on the personnel side by the players that you draft and how well they produce and the types of players that they turn into for the organization,” Ziegler said. “And so, there’s a competitive aspect of wanting to draft players. You want every single draft pick and every single player that you sign, you want that player to produce and overproduce in an ideal situation.

“Yeah, we want to have a great draft. Sure, you want to be known as a team that drafts well and that develops talent and all those types of things. Whatever round that is, we want to make sure that we’re able to do that.”

HENDERSON, Nev. — Consider it one of the biggest challenges facing the Las Vegas Raiders‘ new regime. And it’s not merely a single-prong problem.

Because while general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels have to clean up what can only be considered draft misses (messes?) by previous staffs, they also have to show they have learned from those mistakes and avoid making the same ones going forward.

Consider: The Raiders have given out second consecutive contracts to six of their 68 post-Al Davis draft picks from 2012 to 2019.

Only one was a first-rounder (left tackle Kolton Miller, who was drafted by Jon Gruden and Reggie McKenzie in 2018) and one was taken in the second round (quarterback Derek Carr, who has signed a pair of extensions after being picked by McKenzie and Dennis Allen in 2014).

Two third-round picks (guard Gabe Jackson went 81^st overall in 2014 and offensive tackle Brandon Parker went 65^th in 2018) and a pair of fourth-rounders (defensive tackle Justin Ellis was No. 107 in 2014, while defensive end Maxx Crosby was taken No. 106 overall by Gruden and Mike Mayock in 2019) round out the list.

Only the New York Giants have signed fewer of their draft picks over the same time frame to second contracts (two), while the Jacksonville Jaguars have extended 10 of their 59 picks from 2012 to ’19.

And when you throw in the fact that three of the Raiders’ 15 eligible first-round draft picks since 2005 have signed second deals with the team — Miller, running back Darren McFadden (drafted in 2007) and 2006 first-round defensive back Michael Huff (Las Vegas also re-signed 2016 first-round safety Karl Joseph in 2021 after Joseph spent a year with the Cleveland Browns) — it’s easier to fathom how the team has only been to the playoffs twice, losing both postseason games, since appearing in Super Bowl XXXVII … in January 2003.

Yet, as Carr said last week at the news conference announcing his three-year, $121.5 million extension — he previously signed a five-year, $125 million extension in 2017 — he wanted to make sure money was left on the table to take care of teammates in need of, yes, second contracts.

“Guys like, hopefully, Hunter [Renfrow] and Foster [Moreau],” Carr said of his slot receiver, who was a fifth-round pick in 2019, and his backup tight end, a fourth-rounder that same year. “And [hopefully] those guys can stay here the way we structured [my extension].

“I went through a heartbreak already last time I signed my contract, my best friend [Khalil Mack] left, and I didn’t want that to ever happen again. And so, this was an opportunity for me to prove to the team, to the organization, to our fans, that the way we’re going to structure this is so that we can keep everybody together and really, really have real continuity, really have something to build on. And so, for me, it was like, how do we do that?”

The Raiders will also get roughly $20 million in salary-cap space after June 1, thanks to the releases of defensive end Carl Nassib and linebackers Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski.

Plus, the Raiders will have to make decisions on whether to apply fifth-year options on their 2019 first-round picks — defensive end Clelin Ferrell, running back Josh Jacobs and safety Johnathan Abram.

“Usually in these negotiations, ‘How much money can we get?'” Carr said. “And then they’re, ‘How much can we save?’ And this was just different. There was a learning curve about it. Like, how do we make that happen to where I feel good and to where the team feels great, like, ‘Man, we can still build a championship team around you.’ And so, that was what was important to us. And hopefully this contract proves that.”

The proof, though, remains in the draft and the regime’s coming selection technique.

It is the lifeblood of any organization, and with Raiders owner Mark Davis bringing in a couple of lifelong New England Patriots in Ziegler and McDaniels to run the football side of things, expect big changes.

Such as the actual, well, draft philosophy. The Raiders do not have first- or second-round picks, thanks to the Davante Adams trade, and are not scheduled to make the first of their five selections until the third round, at No. 86 overall.

“We’re going to try to draft the best players [available],” McDaniels said at the NFL owners meetings. “I mean, if we draft three in the same position in a row, because they’re clearly the three best players when it’s our turn to draft, I mean, you make a strength stronger.

“To me, the best way to improve your team is to continue to take the right guy. Not, ‘Oh, man, we’ve got a hole on the roster, let’s take this guy just because his name says whatever position beside him.'”

And maybe, just maybe, the Raiders will find some guys worthy of second contracts that way.