This week is the long awaited and now very unique NFL Draft. Who will go #1? Who cares?! The ONLY thing that matters is who the RAIDERS draft! Who will be Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden’s 2020 draft class? My prediction is that the they DO NOT draft a receiver in the first round. Pass on Lamb. Pass on Jeudy. Defense is still the need. Last year the Raiders offense was NOT the problem. They scored with regularity. They moved the chains. But their defense had trouble stopping opposing teams. A team should have a winning record if they score 20-24 points a game. At least go .500. So it’s on the defense right now to push the team into the playoffs. The Raiders need to stop Mahomes and Co. Offense won’t do that and trying to out score KC is a tough nut. Take a look at the Chargers. KC struggles always against the Bolts defense, unfortunately the Bolts offense went bust last season. The Niners had the Super Bowl in hand but their offense came to play for only half a game. Finally, Gruden NEVER tips his hand. So he’s letting everyone say WR and then will remind everyone how he took the Raiders from lame to insane back in his original tenure at the helm. Gruden and Mayock both do their research on EVERY player. Sure, they will look to their scouts for some guys but you better believe those two put in the work. Put in the time. Look at the Raiders 2019 draft glass. Not just the three first rounders but Max Crosby in the fourth, who was a serious contender for Rookie Defensive Player of the Year honors, TE Foster Moreau also in the fourth, and of course there was Hunter Renfrow in the fifth. That’s six draft picks that all became significant contributors to the team, okay five with Abrams missing the season due to injury in game one, but had he not been injured he would’ve produced.
I have nothing but faith in Gruden and Mayock. They are going to prove to be the most prolific Coach GM duo the NFL will ever see!
John Schoon's Views and Reviews 