Is it too early to talk about draft position? Probably. We still have ten games left to play. But watching the Raiders pathetic performance on Sunday in Chicago makes it hard not to think about it.
For the seventh straight game this season the Raiders didn’t get out of the teens in offensive scoring. Making it increasingly hard to imagine this team making a playoff push. Not that anyone should be rooting for a tank right now, but if we are looking at yet another losing season for the Raiders, one’s thoughts naturally wander to draft position.
In that regard, the Raiders had a pretty good day.
At 3-4 on the season, they sit just outside the top ten in the draft order. So, if they are to come up in the draft order, they need some other teams to win. There were five teams who played Sunday who each had one win on the season. They were as follows:
Bears (1-5)
Patriots (1-5)
Giants (1-5)
Cardinals (1-5)
Broncos (1-5)
Of those teams, all but one of them won on Sunday. The Bears, of course, being the team that beat the Raiders. As a result, there is now just one game separating them from the teams currently vying for the third overall pick behind the Bears (via the 0-6 Panthers) and Cardinals (1-6).
And not that you needed a reason to root against the 49ers, they face the 2-4 Vikings Monday night. So, a win by the Vikings would be good news as well.
Yeah, it’s early to be talking draft. But if the Raiders keep playing like they have, it will be getting late before you know it.