No team can exist solely on young players. Even rebuilding teams must give their young hopefuls some veteran influence to look up to in
order to live up to their potential. The youngsters take..." Raiders
NewsLamarcus Joyner sees young version of himself in Raiders rookie
DBsNew
Derek Carrier Jersey ,15commentsPDTNo team can exist solely on young players. Even rebuilding teams must give their young hopefuls some veteran influence to
look up to in order to live up to their potential. The youngsters take advice
from the vets and in many cases pattern their games off of them.Comparisons are
also inevitable. The question of “who is the next...” is thrown around a lot.
These players grow up with heroes and aspire to write similar NFL success
stories.Jon Gruden likes to compare his current players with his former players.
He knows such statements make some ink. So, when the Raiders signed Lamarcus
Joyner to a free agent deal this offseason, Jon Gruden immediately broke out the
comparison of his former safety with the Bucs, Ronde Barber.Joyner was the
team’s lone defensive free agent acquisition to receive a long term deal this
offseason. He is going to man the nickel corner job primarily, but is versatile
enough to play the safety position when necessary.A few weeks later, the team
made a significant investment in the secondary, adding three DBs in the draft
including two in the top 40 in safety Johnathan Abram at 27 overall and
cornerback Trayvon Mullen at 40.The two of them will look to the 6th year
veteran Joyner who has played at a high level at both safety and cornerback and
hope they too can carve out successful NFL careers.In particular with Abram,
Joyner sees a lot of himself“He’s an alpha. He just has to slow it down, he’s
ready to go. He’s been an alpha all of his life and I told him that you just
have to think, keep your feet on the ground and let things come to him,” said
Joyner.“I remember being that way, which is why I know – with experience – just
relax and your time will come. People know your great abilities and your
potential.”At 41 overall, Joyner was selected in a similar range to Abram and
Mullen. He didn’t just burst onto the scene either. He appeared in 10 games with
one start as a rookie and had no interceptions and 40 combined tackles. Five
years later, he can draw from his first NFL experience and pass it on to his new
rookie teammates.“Like I told him and Trayvon [Mullen], they’re going to be
greater players than me someday,” said Joyner. “So, to be able to have that
honor and privilege to guide them and them trust me with that, that’s going to
transition to a good work and off-the-field relationship.”Follow @LeviDamien
When you need an edge rusher as bad as the Raiders do, reaching for need seems
almost inevitable."Every GM preaches drafting the best player available. Some
are at least honest enough to admit that need also plays a significant role in
that selection. Former Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie was one of those who
consistently swore the player he selected was the best player on the board, even
though the selections were clearly filling needs. Raiders GM Mike Mayock is a
bit more upfront about the more practical strategy a GM uses to select certain
players — that need is the primary factor.“I’m the son of a coach and I know how
coaches think, and coaches think need
Mike Nugent Jersey ,” Mayock said in his pre-draft press conference. “And we are a coach-driven building, our coaches are highly involved and that’s good. I
embrace that.”I doubt there are many (if any) reading this who isn’t already
quite familiar with the Raiders considerable need of edge rushing. The need was
so great that it seemed inevitable the team would make a play for one of the top
edge rushers in free agency to ensure they didn’t go into the draft in
desperation mode at the position.Being desperate at any position ends up calling
for desperate measures. “The flip side is you can’t reach,” Mayock continued,
“you got to use some common sense and that’s what I preach upstairs. Is that if
we are in a situation where if two similarly rated players and one is a higher
position of need, great, let’s go get him, but if there is a discount, a
disparity between two let’s not reach for need because the more you do that, the
more you dilute your roster, and that’s a conversation we’ve had a lot.”It’s a
conversation that needed to happen, especially after last year’s draft.In
Gruden’s first draft since returning to coaching he passed up on clearly the
best player on the board and best safety in the draft Derwin James (twice) to
reach for tackle Kolton Miller. Then he traded up in the third round to get
small school tackle Brandon Parker. Those reaches bit them in the ass last
season and still this offseason tackle was the top priority as they began free
agency by making Trent Brown the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL
history.With the way most mock drafts are falling, the Raiders are in a
precarious position with regard to pass rushers. The top two pass rushers Nick
Bosa and Josh Allen are usually gone, and the next tier would be considered a
reach at 4. The edge rushers most commonly in that group are Brian Burns, Montez
Sweat, and Clelin Ferrell. But by the time they get to pick 24, all those next
tier of pass rushers figure to be gone.This will make it tempting to trade up in
the first round. The fear with that is teams strong arming the Raiders to force
them to give up too much in trade knowing they have them right where they want
them. The draft value chart suggests the Raiders could move up into the top 12
while not having to surrender both pick 24 and 27. But if the team they are
negotiating with simply stands their ground, and the Raiders know if they don’t
make that trade, they will miss out on one of the draft’s top pass rushers, they
may be forced to overpay to make the move.The next group of edge rushers are not
widely considered first round prospects. But as much draft sense as it makes for
the Raiders to not reach for anyone in that group at 24 or 27, it could prove
tempting if they are sitting there looking at the risk of going through all
three first round selections without addressing the most glaring need on the
team.No one knows exactly how the draft will play out. Mayock’s draft board
might be very different than those of other teams or draft analysts. It often
is. He is also not the one with the final say in who gets drafted. Mayock admits
that he is the conservative one and Gruden is more willing to ‘“roll the dice”.
Gruden gets antsy and either gives up too much or drafts players higher than
they should be taken for fear of not getting his guy or not filling a need.
That’s not a good combination when considering the situation the Raiders have
put themselves in at edge rusher.Follow @LeviDamien
