FanPost

Offseason needs according to positional value

There is plenty to debate about what oositions the Raiders need and how/who to fill those needs. This post isnt about how to fill them. As far as Im concerned, it doesnt matter at all if a need is filled through draft or feee aganecy. A need is a need regardless. A fill is a fill regardless. This oost is about identifying what the needs are and factoring positional value into the equation before ranking the Raiders needs.

So first I list positions in order by my perceived NFL standard positional value. This value icomes from the importance of the position, the scaricity of good players at the position, and the number of downs the position normally plays. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 I hive my opnion on how strong/weak the position currently is based on who is currently under contract in 2019. With a low number meaning the position is stronger or leess of a need while high numbers indicate a team weakness. I make no assumptions at all on UFAs will get re-signed before free agency starts... though I do expect all meaningful RFAs to be on the roster. The only real reason Im doing this is to help explain why my need rankings may look so different than others. There are two factors in play and both are a matter of opinion. You may disagree on one factor while agrreeing on the other. Or you can agrre or disagreee on both.

QB 2

OT 10

CB 7

Edge (DE/OLB or OLB/DE) 10

WR 9

DL (DT/DE or DE/DT) 5

OC 3

RB 9

LB (any non edge type as that is the main varience) 8

S 9

OG 3

TE 5

NT (any large/slow DT who rarely plays DE) 4

K 2

RS 8

FB 6

P 10

LS whatever

Now I give the more simple ranking of Raiders biggest offseason needs in my opinion of importance. The bigger hole isnt always the bigger need. Thats because there is a big difference in positional values.

1 OT

2 Edge

3 WR

4 CB

5 RB

6 S

7 LB

8 DL

9 TE

10 RS

11 QB

12 OC

13 OG

14 P

15 NT

16 FB

17 LS

Good examples of how positional value shakes up my rankings is the punter position and the CB position, Despite our punter being the worst in the league, his positional value is so low he only moves up two spots in the need ranking. Despite some weaker looking positions, CB is so valuable it maintains a high need ranking.

Again, this is not draft needs. This is team needs... period. I dont give a damn if a player is drafted, traded for, or signed as a free agent. A player is a player, a need is a need. This isnt a salary cap or prospect debate.