There was some concern about Raiders head coach Jon Gruden going it alone when it came to drafting players in 2018, his first year back. As it turns out, those worries were well-founded. Of the nine players drafted by Gruden that year — he refused to accept input from then-general manager Reggie McKenzie — only
Four more players from Jon Gruden’s 2018 draft class in jeopardy of not making the cut
Thank God for Mike Mayock!
He is to Gruden what Ron Wolf was to Al Davis for so many years!
Al Davis is one of the top five geniuses the NFL has ever seen, but he was also impulsive and made rash decisions. Ron Wolf was the pragmatic super scout who Al Davis would listen to and respected. All the best drafts the Raiders ever had were while Ron Wolf was in the office.
And now as they say, history is repeating itself. Thank God for Mike Mayock!!!
Nice observation, Eric. Oh, and nice username, too. We’ve already heard at least once from Peter King, I believe, about how Gruden wanted to trade up to get a certain player but was talked out of it by Mayock, with the player Gruden wanting so badly still there with the original pick. So, yes, Gruden and the Raiders are better off with Mayock as the Wolf to Gruden’s Davis-like impulsiveness.
Mike Mayock was a terrific hire. Without him, Gruden making personnel decisions would be a nightmare.
Brandon Parker should be cut. Key is on the bubble along with Hall.
Training camp will be huge for all 3 of them.
Parker’s still salvageable, of course. Fortunately for the Raiders, they aren’t counting upon him to be a starter this season or anytime soon. So, he has time to keep working on his technique, getting stronger, etc. If he matures into a solid, multi-positional backup, that’s not such a bad thing.
Key and Hall are being counted upon for far more than Parker, though, so they are under more pressure. Luckily for them, Rod Marinelli is the kind of guy that can tap into their abilities and get the most out of them. If Marinelli fails to turn them into dependable players, then that will be the end of their Raiders careers.
On the bright side, at least Gruden is willing to jettison the guys that don’t pan out, rather than hang on to them to save face.