FanPost

The Raiders real needs

For some time now we have combed over every area of the raiders roster and said "this is where they need to improve personnel wise to get better!" Today I am going to modify that conversation and say "This is what we need to go after because of how the league is changing"

Since our Pass defense is so unpredictable week to week, we need to focus on our defensive backfield hard in both free agency and the draft. I think DJ Hayden will be who we drafted him to be but he needs somebody on the other side who is better than him at the moment. Since we have failed to land the "Darrelle Revis' or the Aquib Talibs of the world in free agency we have to settle for the tier 2 corners like Kareem Jackson, Byron Maxwell, Antonio Cromartie, Good players but a shade under elite to help bring DJ's game up. Now we're in the process of letting go of Tyvon Branch but the question is who are we going to replace him with? Brandain Ross certainly looked goood, but is he the right fit for Jack Del Rio's defense. I would say yes, but as a Back up. I think the plan is to obtain a SS that hits like Dashon Goldston but can cover like an elite corner. I know most think Landon Collins should be the pick, but don't sleep on Jaquiski Tartt out of Samford or Anthony Harris out of Virginia in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

The Defensive line can be addressed in the draft and free agency to, I don't need to go into great detail about that because, its been beat like an over worked slave several times now and we all know who we want to see get picked up for that position we just need to wait and see. Now the Middle Linebacker spot is prime in my opinion and is the most blatant area of need on this team, simply because we were exposed in the middle of the field and when teams like the St Louis Rams would run the ball we didn't have anyone or had just let go of Somebody who could have held that position down for us. Going back to early on in the season I think Reggie Mckenzie should have kept Carlos Fields, he did a great job for us in the preseason but "Politics" gets in the way of winning and we couldn't keep him. So in my opinion I say we do need to go after Mason Foster and rotate him in behind the Rookie we do draft at ILB so we can help his transition easier.

The offense is the most interesting side of the ball to rebuild because about 4 years ago it wasn't the problem.....defense was. If we start with the O-line the biggest question is what are we going to do with Tony Bergstrom, he has yet to play at all and when he does you hardly notice it. I don't understand why we are holding onto Tony Bergstrom cause he has yet to beat anyone out for a starting position anywhere on the line thus far. We need to pluck another Offensive Guard that mirrors Gabe Jackson in this draft and get on of the top Guards in free agency. I honestly think we need to draft a top Center this year since we are allowing Stefan Wisneiwski to walk in free agency due to his desire to be paid like Alex Mack was. As for the Offensive Tackle position I think one of these practice squad players eventually takes over in the future we are stuck with these guys for now.

The TE's and Wide Receivers are a situation I think we ought to be very careful with, we can ill afford to screw up in this area going forward. Half of us want Amari Cooper and the other half wants Kevin white. Along with a top flight veteran to pair with them and Rod Streater. if we can't land any one of the top receivers I say we look to the draft. What we really need is that young slot receiver that can be physical, run great routes and get open at the blink of an eyelash with.......Speed and quickness and instead of looking to just go after Cooper or white we might want to grab Tre McBride along with them this year, big game, big plays, deep threat, great hands.

The Running back Situation is such an enigma that I will just wait and see who or what shakes out at training camp.