The Raiders roster isn’t set, but the major shuffling is now complete. General manager Reggie McKenzie signed 12 new free agents and drafted 10 more.
We don’t know how this group will come together or play a season out, but there is optimism that new head coach Jack Del Rio has some tools to work with. Caution should always be exercised when projecting results before watching a group play, even on the inside. Del Rio told everyone with a microphone that “the cupboard was not bare” when he arrived, but believes additions made – subtractions, in some cases – have made the Raiders a better football team.
“This has been a very productive offseason,” Del Rio said. “Our free agency was sound and solid and we acquired some really good players, strengthened our team, made it more competitive, and then we feel like we come out of this draft weekend feeling good about the work that went into it and the way it laid out for us and the fact we were able to acquire some really good players that are excited to be Raiders.”
Del Rio has been key to this transition, designed to restore the Raiders’ reputation. Winning games will help you do that, but he’s put a stamp on this franchise in just four months.
“It’s a great time to be a Raider,” Del Rio said. “I’m excited to be leading the franchise.”
Receiver Amari Cooper could be a big part of Del Rio’s resurrection attempt. The No. 4 overall draft pick was by far the team’s biggest acquisition, a player who should pay immediate dividends and improve a fortify a pronounced weakness.
We’ll get glimpses of Cooper and defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. and free agents Rodney Hudson and Michael Crabtree, etc. over the next few months, as the coaching staff starts to mold the group during OTAs, training camp and the preseason but this offseason’s effectiveness will be realized come the fall.
“I’m more worried about how we grade out in September when we start playing games,” Del Rio said. “Right now, I know it was a good, solid effort. I think we’ve had a lot of good solid efforts and we’re just trying to put together one day after another, make it a great day one day after another. This was, I think, an excellent weekend for us and just one step along the way in this process of building this organization back where it belongs.”
Let’s take a look at the new pieces added to the Raiders roster:
Free agent signings
LB Malcolm Smith
LB Curtis Lofton
DT Dan Williams
RB Roy Helu Jr.
C Rodney Hudson
TE Lee Smith
S Nate Allen
CB James Dockery
QB Christian Ponder
OT J’Marcus Webb
WR Michael Crabtree
RB Trent Richardson
Draft picks
WR Amari Cooper
DL Mario Edwards Jr.
TE Clive Walford
G John Feliciano
LB Ben Heeney
LB Neiron Ball
DE Max Valles
OL Anthony Morris
KR/WR Andre Debose
CB Dexter McDonald
Undrafted free-agent signings
Note: List is unofficial
QB Cody Fajardo
OLB/DE Josh Shirley
DT Leon Orr
WR Josh Harper
LB Jimmy Hall
OL Mitchell Bell
DB Terrell Pinson
LB Jacoby Hale
CB Robertson Daniel
RB Gus Johnson
S Tevin McDonald
