The first round of the 2018 draft will be remembered by Oakland Raiders’ fans for years.
It will either be recalled as the day the Raiders got a cornerstone left tackle in the form of UCLA’s Kolton Miller. Or will it will be remembered as the day the Raiders – in big need of defense — ignored that side of the ball. Let’s take a look at the key moments of the draft leading up to the Miller pick:
No. 5: Any dream of a trade up for Bradley Chubb died when the hated AFC West rival Denver Broncos took him at No. 5.
No. 8: As expected, the Roquan Smith dream died when the Bears took him. When the Colts took Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson at No. 6, Smith was headed to the Bears. Man, he would have been a good Raider.
No. 9: Thanks to the fateful coin toss, conducted by former Oakland coach and Jon Gruden critic Rod Woodson, the 49ers picked and took Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey. RaidersSnakepit’s Steve Corkran reported 13 days ago he was a big target of the Raiders.
No. 10: The Raiders, with three targets off the board, but several good defensive players left, traded the No. 10 pock to Arizona, who took UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen.
No. 11: The Dolphins took Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who many thought we look great in Silver and Black.
No. 12: Tampa Bay, which traded down five spots in a QB trade like the Raiders (but got much more in return) took Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea. He was another guy the Raiders could have taken.
No. 13: Washington took Alabama defensive tackle De’Ron Payne. Yes, he would have helped the Raiders.
No. 14: New Orleans traded two picks to take UT-San Antonio pass-rusher Marcus Davenport. The Raiders reportedly liked him, too.
No. 15: The Raiders continued to bypass defensive players, to take Miler. The players they didn’t take include Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edwards, Florida State safety Derwin James (who went to AFC West rival Chargers) and Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.
Time will tell this story. But you would have to think, at least, one of the defenders Oakland bypassed could have helped.
Matt Stinchcomb 2.0?! I know the Raiders need a RT and a replacement for Penn soon but I feel like this was a reach at best. Hopefully it works out!
Well.. Carr is our franchise QB and without him we are basically done. I don’t care how many potential defensive stars they may have added, if Carr is on his back and being wheeled to the locker room the season is over. Hopefully they are correct and Kolton is the talent they project because we need to protect Carr –especially with the defense edge rushers in our division. It’s not sexy and it doesn’t come with the pomp that the star defensive players come with, but when you hit on tackles it makes a world of difference when you suit up on Sundays. Adding an explosive WR in Bryant as part of that draft pick also has to be figured in.
Raiders definitely over-complicated this. Shouldve just taken Fitz at 10 and been extremely happy. Even if it wasnt their highest need, Choose Best Player available. Instead they got a questionable left tackle, a receiver with one year left on his deal, and a 5th round pick. Our only hope is Miller turns out to be a stud because I can assure you Fitz will be.
Same old Raiders, reaching for a player that would have been available in the 2nd or 3rd round. Yes, the need for an OT is there. But when you’ve got blue chip defensive starters on the board, you take them. Especially when your defense ranked in the bottom third of EVERY category last year. This “project” would have been there in RD2 or RD3.
Gruden listened to Cable – you know, the guy who presided over one of the worse offensive lines in football up in Seattle. Way to go. 😐
We do have a need at DB.
Our starting CBs are only on paper so far. Neither has proven they can stay healthy for an entire season.
We re-signed our FS and brought one in to compete. Obi was also lost most all of the season.
Who plays the nickel? Our SS has been ok to good. Not a great player providing impact as a 1st round pick.
We need inside pass rush help, just as Gruden.
We need a MLB. Just ask RM.
We take a project OT after trading back for little compensation. And we trade for a guy with weed issues in the final year of his contract. What a haul.
I think everyone could see the Raiders definitely had a need at offensive tackle and we all knew they were going to draft one. All that said, Gruden really messed this up. You can’t go into the first round and be hell bent on getting an offensive tackle at all costs…not when you have more holes than swiss cheese on the other side of the ball. I think you HAVE to draft the best available player on defence left on the board in the first round regardless of position. Then go get your offensive tackle…maybe find a way to trade up and then get Miller or whoever with your 2nd pick. It’s like Gruden has no concept of value, what he did was not maximize value. He reached, plain and simple for a guy who didn’t even have a good 2017. Gruden is starting to remind me of a rookie fantasy football guy who gets fixated on a certain player and will go get him even if there is better options and better value out there.
I’m not impressed with most of Gruden’s moves so far and quite honestly I’m really disappointed. Whether or not Miller works out, it was still a bad pick in terms of value. He still could have got him in the 2nd round and the team would be much better off today.
I realize we got Bryant in the trade which helps the receiving core though so that’s the upside. Assuming of course we don’t lose him after one season or he gets in trouble again.
Question for Bill or Steve: Do you think the Broncos selecting Chubb had an influence on the Raiders decision to go with OT Miller in the first round? I kind of wonder if Gruden got worried seeing how the Broncos will have such solid bookends with Vonn Miller and Chubb and felt he had to combat that by beefing up with the best OT he could get at his spot. Not to mention other guys in the division like Joey Bosa to contend with.
No, mind was made up
Not a smart way to draft at all in my opinion. I think these guys (Gruden and McKenzie) are a couple of goldfish swimming in the water with sharks. Here’s hoping I’m wrong but I’m not liking the direction of this team whatsoever right now.
I would really start to feel better if the team focused more on defense for the rest of this draft. The team needs to get the ball back to the offense more often than not and be able to consistently make stops for it to reach the heights it desires. Not liking the off season thus far. I hope the moves pan out.
Last night was really disappointing for me and I really felt bad for my son who flew all the way from Nashville to Seattle to watch the draft with his Dad. With that being said I’m not shocked that we drafted this kid. In fact when they traded back I new who it was going to be and I understand why they made the pick. It was the biggest need we have on the team by far and we just got unlucky that this year’s group of tackles are not that strong and they had to reach for a potential type player it just sucks. But really guys the only player that was drafted last night that we know for sure what he can be in the NFL is the player we got with a free pick in the trade down. Oh and one last thing there’s no way we could of gotten Miller in the second round I promise you he was getting past the pats at 23.
No, mind was made up