The Raiders have plenty of money to spend in free agency come mid-March, but it’s not going to matter much when it comes to landing big-name players unless head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock strike quick and pay a premium. That’s precisely what Gruden and Mayock did a year ago, when they
More pressure on Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock in free agency this offseason than last year
Money doesn’t go far in free agency, esp for the upper tier free agents. I liken it to purchasing stock at a premium. Raiders will only get 1-2 elite players via free agency. Free agency is not meant to be a major pipeline for talent, only complementary pieces.
Get 1-2 top players like Littleton and Jones in FA, then the draft becomes critical to fill in the rest, like Jeudy/ Lamb and Queen (LB from LSU) .
Rest of the draft is building depth. Mayock said he has to do a better job building depth.
Agreed. Nail the top two or three free-agent signees and the draft, then things will be trending even more upward. Can’t whiff on someone such Lamarcus Joyner again. Same goes for Tyrell Williams and Tahir Whitehead.
The Raiders selling themselves as a destination for top FAs could be helped by the tax situation in Vegas. We have talked about that previously.
What would have helped more, winning games at the end of the season. There is plenty of fault there to go around. And not just losing, but being blown out by the chiefs and jets does not help either.
Its an imperfect science in signing FAs and picking in the draft. That is why the teams who do it well are winning games.
It is also difficult to fix all the issues in one offseason. A bust high in the draft or in FA can set a team back, especially if they miss on players consistently.
Yup, need to find FAs who will actually have an impact and build depth because injuries happen in football. Agree with you Vet that the new stadium and city may attract some talent that would not have considered the Raiders before. I do worry that a young player may not be able to stay out of trouble in Sin City, so Mayock and Gruden have to account for that when they talk to these players. Can’t have these players becoming unavailable because of off field antics.