Oakland Raiders: 3 Players to target in 2018 NFL Draft to retake the West
New Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has returned home after 15 years and these three NFL Draft prospects will help him restore the Black Hole to glory.
The NFL offseason wouldn’t have been the same without hearing the rumblings of Jon Gruden’s return to the sideline. While the previous teams vying for Gruden’s services have been met with a disappointing “no.” All it took was a $100 million for the Oakland Raiders to become the lucky team to land the one time Super Bowl winning head coach. Now Gruden is back where is career started and looking to finish some unfinished business he started before being traded to the Buccaneers in 2002.
The 2017 Oakland Raiders were a disaster as the team failed to live up to lofty expectations that followed a playoff exit the previous season. With a dreadful defense and an offense that underachieved, Gruden as a lot of work ahead of him.
Gruden’s staff is coming together in a big way. Former Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson is set to return, the 54-year old coordinator spent 2017 with the Rams where he helped Jared Goff silence his critics. On the defensive side of the ball, long-time Bengals assistant Paul Guenther will take over as defensive coordinator for a unit that really needs a boost.
Now that Gruden has his coordinators Raiders fans are anxious to see if Gruden will repeat the magic he had during the early 2000s. With almost a decade away from the game, the question remains… The team is not the 2001 Raiders or the 2003 Buccaneers but they have pieces. And with the right draft picks the Raiders can really take a major step into the world of championship contenders. Here are X players the Raiders can draft to take them to the next level.
3. Mikah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama
Whether it was with Oakland, or Tampa Bay, Gruden had a game changer at the cornerback position. With the Raiders, it was Charles Woodson who was drafted in 1998 the same year Gruden became the dead coach. Woodson was a supremely athletic, versatile corner who became a transcendent player and a staple in the Raiders defense. With the Bucs, Gruden inherited Ronde Barber, whether it was pulling up in run support, playing the pass, or sacking the quarterback — the man could do it all.
Minkah Fitzpatrick is hard to pass up, especially with Reggie Nelson being 34 years old and not the same type of player he once was. At cornerback, both Sean Smith and David Amerson should be cut because of their lack of productivity and the $14.5 million they could free up.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
One of the most impressive things about Fitzpatrick is his football IQ and leadership, but it doesn’t stop there. The junior has shown over the past two seasons that he’s not one-dimensional. He’s the perfect intellectual fit for a defensive coordinator in Guenther who will use a multitude of coverages including Cover-2 and Cover-4 while his front seven blitzes to create pressure. They can line him up at safety or move him down to corner, more specific as a nickel and see instant impact.
At 6-0, 200 pounds the Fitzpatrick has the length and size to play outside but has proven that he’s great when asked to play the nickel. At safety, while he doesn’t have gawty numbers, he does have the speed and athleticism to make plays all over the field including in the run game. He’s a top prospect whether he’s playing safety or cornerback, and it’s that versatility that Gruden and Guenther will need in the backend of a defense that gave up 24 passing touchdowns and the seventh most passing yards on defense.
2. Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan
During Gruden’s Super Bowl run with Tampa there was a guy up front, Warren Sapp who was an unstoppable 3-gap penetrator. In Paul Guenther’s defense while in Cincinnati he had Geno Atkins, a player with a similar skill-set as a 3-tech gap penetrator.
At 6-2, 282 pounds Hurst fits the build as an undersized defensive tackle who can excel in Guenther’s defense. Hurst lives in the backfield, in 2017 he totaled 12.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. The reason for that is his amazing first step, the same first step that allows tackles like Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald, and Kwann Short to be dominant as gap defenders. In a system that’ll utilize a gap scheme and a number of blitzes to create pressure,
Hurst is the perfect fit for the Raiders. And no matter what the Raiders do, this draft should focus on building around the elite talents of Khalil Mack. By taking Fitzpatrick early and a player like Hurst in the second they’ll have two guys that can come in and become instant spark plugs.
1. KeKe Coutee, WR, Texas Tech
With drafting players like Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, general manager Reggie McKenzie has shown that he’s not against going after guys with exceptional athletic gifts. And with Michael Crabtree getting older plus Cooper’s case of the drops, Oakland needs another weapon on offense.
Offensive coordinator Greg Olson knows what it’s like to have dynamic playmakers on the outside and what it does for on offense. In 2006-07 he coached Hall-of-Famers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. Now with this draft they need to get another dynamic receiver to go along with Cooper and Crabtree or an eventual replacement for the latter.
The Texas Tech receiver is projected as a day three pick right now. However, with his excellent speed and production, taking him the third would be a wise move for the Raiders. Carr is a quarterback with a rocket for an arm which works well with speedy guys like Coutee. Though the Raiders have Cooper, adding someone who can line up in the slot and separate underneath will work well in a Gruden/Olson offense. In a division where you gave teams with tough secondaries like the Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers a team can never have too many weapons.
Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Conference Championship edition
What the 5-11, 180-pound Coutee does well is run routes without losing speed, which makes him an ideal slot receiver. Plus, he’s a danger after the catch because of his long speed and quickness like a DeSean Jackson or TY Hilton. Adding him to this offense will make them one of the most explosive teams in all of the AFC, and really give them a shot at repeating the success they had in 2016.
With the $100 million coach in town the pressure is on for the Raiders to deliver a championship sooner rant her than later. And with Gruden’s history and the players in us draft, we could see Oakland bounce back in 2018.