Raiders select Alabama WR Henry Ruggs III in latest mock draft

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It’s no secret that the Oakland Raiders will be looking to add to their wide receiver room this offseason. While the team is having a ton of success on offense, the unit lacks a true No. 1 receiver that can dictate coverage.

Oakland has a bunch of nice complementary players, including Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow, but they need that one stud they can go to in the game’s biggest moments.

Luckily for Oakland, several elite wide receiver options are entering the 2020 draft. One such player is Henry Ruggs III of Alabama. While Ruggs doesn’t have the prototypical size for a No. 1 receiver, he is one of the most explosive receivers in the country.

Through nine games, Ruggs is averaging 20 yards per receptions on 29 catches as he has scored seven total touchdowns. In Luke Easterling’s latest mock draft at the Draft Wire, Ruggs was the selection for the Raiders at pick No. 17. Take a look at Easterling’s reasoning for the pick below:

The Antonio Brown debacle is in the rear-view mirror, but the Raiders still need a No. 1 receiver who can take over a game with size, athleticism and physicality. Current management takes a page out of the late, great Al Davis’ book, opting for Ruggs and his elite speed.

Ruggs would be a great fit in Oakland’s offense because he can stretch the field, opening up the underneath routes for Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow, while also taking a safety out of the box in the run game.

Ruggs isn’t likely to be a 100-catch receiver in the NFL, but that isn’t what Oakland needs. They just need someone to keep defenses honest, and that’s precisely what Ruggs can do.

Expect the Alabama receiver to be on the shortlist of players the team considers come April’s draft.

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Updated playoff standings entering Week 11

After a much-needed win in Week 10, the Oakland Raiders are right in the thick of things in the AFC playoff chase. Sitting at 5-4, there are only a few teams in the conference with a better record than the Raiders.

With the Chiefs losing in Week 10, Oakland is somehow only one-game back of the division lead with a game left with Kansas City.

While a wild card berth is still the most likely outcome for the Raiders, it’s certainly not impossible that they catch the Chiefs given how soft their schedule is over the next few weeks.

Let’s take a quick look at the current playoff standings in both the AFC:

SEED	TEAM	DIVISION	RECORD
1	New England	East	8-1-0
2	Baltimore	North	7-2-0
3	Houston	South	6-3-0
4	Kansas City	West	6-4-0
5	Buffalo	East	6-3-0
6	Pittsburgh	North	5-4-0

SEED	TEAM	DIVISION	RECORD
7	Oakland	West	5-4-0
8	Indianapolis	South	5-4-0
9	Tennessee	South	5-5-0
10	Jacksonville	South	4-5-0
11	Los Angeles	West	4-6-0
12	Denver	West	3-6-0
13	Cleveland	North	3-6-0
14	Miami	East	2-7-0
15	N.Y. Jets	East	2-7-0
16	Cincinnati	North	0-9-0

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Raiders mid-season awards: Best rookies through Week 10

Technically last week was the actual midseason mark for the Raiders, but it was a short week, so there just wasn’t time to put together any awards, so we’re doing it after nine games instead. Starting with the rookies of the midseason.

Offensive Rookie of the Midseason: RB Josh Jacobs

This one was a no-brainer. He is not just the best rookie on the Raiders, but the best in the NFL. He is currently fifth in the NFL, averaging 90.1 yards per game for a total of 811 yards rushing. He is also sixth in the league with 7 rushing touchdowns. Those are rankings among all running backs, not just rookies.

Jacobs consistently gets something out of nothing, rarely getting stopped for no gain or a loss. He is a patient runner who shows excellent burst through the hole, and strength at the point of attack to drive through defenders. He’s rushed for over 120 yards in three of his last five games.

Defensive Rookie of the Midseason: DE Maxx Crosby

‘Mad’ Maxx has been a terror off the edge for the Raiders. He is currently tied with Benson Mayowa for the team lead with 7 QB hits. He has 2.5 sacks along with 5 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Last week against the Chargers, he had just a half-sack but made Philip Rivers’s life miserable all game long. Crosby was showing his hair-on-fire play from the jump but only seems to be getting better. Quite the get in the fourth round.

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Raiders double-digit favorites over visiting Bengals in Week 11

There was a stretch this season in which the Raiders weren’t favored for any games. Basically, it started in week two against the Chiefs and went through their 5-game road stint to Minnesota, Indianapolis, London (Bears), Green Bay, and Houston. They would win two of those five and currently sit at 5-4 on the season.

Coming off two-straight wins against the Lions and Chargers, the Raiders are now 3-1 at home and are getting some respect from oddsmakers. They welcome the winless (0-9) Bengals to town on Sunday, and the line is the largest of the week at between -10 and -10.5, depending on the site.

The five teams the Raiders have beaten this season have a combined record of 19-26-1, and none of the teams to whom they lost currently has a losing record. Far from it, actually. They have a combined record of 27-12 record.

So, they’ve handled their business against ‘beatable’ teams. Teams don’t get more beatable than the 0-8 Bengals whose defense ranks dead last in the NFL and in the bottom five on offense. They’ve scored over 20 points just once this season and have surrendered at least 21 points in every game.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have scored at least 24 points each of the past six games, but have allowed at least 21 points in all but the opener against the Broncos.

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Former Raiders DT Justin Ellis signs on with Ravens

‘Jelly’ has found a home. Former Raiders starting defensive tackle Justin Ellis has signed with the Baltimore Ravens, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Source: The #Ravens have signed veteran DT Justin Ellis, who had been a starter for the #Raiders for years. A midseason addition given injuries at that spot.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 12, 2019

When the Raiders made their final roster cuts on August 31, Ellis was placed on injured reserve. He was dealing with a knee injury at the time. He remained on the Raiders’ injured reserve until October 8, when he was released with an injury settlement.

The former fourth-round pick signed a new long term contract with the Raiders in the 2018 offseason. It was one of Jon Gruden’s first moves as head coach. And he hasn’t been able to stay healthy since. Ellis would start the 2018 season on injured reserve, not returning until Week 12. He played in the final six games.

With several decent options to be part of the Raiders’ DT rotation, they moved on from the big nose tackle.

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Raiders move up to No. 12 in Touchdown Wire power rankings

Raiders move up to No. 12 in Touchdown Wire Power Rankings

The Oakland Raiders got a big win in Week 10, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in the final night game at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. That win moved the Raiders to 5-4, and they are now just one game back in the division.

With that win, the Raiders are starting to get more national attention, as well. In Doug Farrar’s latest power rankings at Touchdown Wire, the Raiders have moved all the way up to No. 12, just ahead of the Dallas Cowboys.

Considering the expectations heading into the season, the Raiders and their fans have to be thrilled with how the season is going. Here is what Farrar had to say about the Raiders this season:

Against the Chargers last Thursday, it was time for Oakland’s rookie pass-rushers to show up. This they did, as Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby combined for three sacks and 10 total pressures. Rookie running back Josh Jacobs also scored the game-deciding touchdown in a 26-24 win that put the Raiders over .500 — that was the Raiders’ league-leading 13th touchdown by a rookie in 2019. Oakland’s personnel staff, led by general manager Mike Mayock, has put together the NFL’s most impressive rookie class this season. There’s simply no way Jon Gruden’s team would be in playoff contention had Mayock and his people not done such an incredible job up and down their draft board.

With an incredibly easy schedule coming up over the next few weeks, the Raiders could significantly move up lists like this and inside the top 10. The Raiders have a real chance to make some noise this season and into the playoffs.

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[lawrence-newsletter]

Rookie RB Josh Jacobs is PFF’s highest-graded Raider

Every week, Josh Jacobs is doing more and more to help the Raiders win. Whether it’s making plays in the passing game by blocking or catching, or dominating on the ground, Oakland is able to rely on their stud rookie to carry their offense.

While the production numbers speak for themselves, Jacobs is starting to earn some more national attention now that we are more than halfway through the 2019 season. According to Pro Football Focus, Jacobs is the team’s highest-graded player and is the No. 1 ranked running back in the entire NFL. Take a look at what the site has to say about the former Alabama star:

A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jacobs has lived up to the hype to start the season. He leads all NFL backs with 200 or more offensive snaps played in overall grade (90.4) and rushing grade (90.5) so far this season. He still needs more targets in the passing game, but he’s been nothing but dominant on the ground. He leads all NFL backs with 100 or more carries in forced missed tackles per attempt (0.27) and ranks fifth in yards after contact per attempt (3.6).

Through nine weeks, it’s relatively clear that Jacobs is the front runner for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award as he is going to set numerous franchise records for the Silver and Black. If Jacobs can continue to play at this level, look for the Raiders to make a run to the playoffs behind their workhorse back.

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[lawrence-newsletter]

Jon Gruden lays out Raiders top nickel option(s) should Lamarcus Joyner be unable to go

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Following the Raiders’ Thursday night win over the Chargers, Jon Gruden was initially most concerned about the apparent hamstring injury suffered by nickel cornerback Lamarcus Joyner. He pulled up without contact on the Chargers’ final possession. Those non-contact injuries are often the worst ones.

As it turned out, it was fellow defensive back Karl Joseph who had the more severe injury, and he was placed on the injured reserve list two days later.

While Joyner’s hamstring injury is not season-ending, he may still miss some time. The Raiders signed free agent DJ Swearinger to try and fill the void left by the loss of Joseph, but at cornerback, they recently traded away one of their starters, leaving them with some serious depth issues now that Joyner is a question mark.

So, who replaces Joyner at the nickel cornerback spot? Well, that depends…

“Nevin Lawson is a guy that can play inside,” said Gruden. “Worley can play inside. Isaiah Johnson can play outside, so we have some options. But we’ll see where Lamarcus is here in the next couple days.”

Lawson is the first option. Worley had been tried out at safety and nickel earlier in the season as the Raiders explored their best five options for the secondary. Moving to safety may have been an option had Joyner not been injured, but now Worley is desperately needed at the cornerback spot.

Whether Worley could be tried at the nickel spot is dependent upon where rookie Isaiah Johnson is in his development. Johnson was activated from the injured reserve list just last week and plays exclusively outside.

“We’ll see where Isaiah is with a full week of practice. Remember last week was his first full week active, and we didn’t even have a full-speed practice before the Charger game. So this will be really the first time we get a chance to see him on the practice field for a full week.”

Experience is undoubtedly a concern with Johnson, while Lawson is a veteran cornerback with 54 NFL starts in 66 appearances under his belt. So, it would seem there is a very good chance the cornerback trio will be Worley and Trayvon Mullen on the outside, Lawson in the slot, and Johnson and Keisean Nixon off the bench.

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Raiders tried to claim DJ Swearinger last year, now need him to ‘put it all together’ quickly

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Safety was a bit of a question mark for the Raiders late last season. So, when Washington waived DJ Swearinger on Christmas Eve, Jon Gruden hopes his brother had sent him a Christmas gift. Jon put in a claim for the former second-round pick. But it was the Arizona Cardinals who swooped in like a game of White Elephant and claimed Swearinger instead.

Swearinger started at safety for the first four games for the Cardinals. That’s when the Cardinals thought 5th round supplemental draft pick Jalen Thompson was ready to take over, so they cut Swearinger loose.

For five weeks, Swearinger was unemployed, waiting for an NFL team in need of his services. Last Thursday, his opportunity knocked when, on the last play of the game, Karl Joseph suffered an ankle injury and was lost for the season.

The former top pick safety is the second starting safety the Raiders have lost this season after first-round rookie Johnathan Abram was lost in the opener.

Joseph had played nearly every single snap at safety and made the game-sealing play of the game the past two weeks. So, losing him is significant. After him and fellow starter Erik Harris, there’s just Curtis Riley and Dallin Leavitt, who play almost exclusively on special teams.

Swearinger has started 70 games in 90 appearances in seven NFL seasons, but he has switched teams six times in that span. There’s a reason why a safety as once highly touted as Swearinger has been unable to stick with a team for long. Some have suggested it is his character that is most concerning. The Raiders don’t have the luxury of worrying about personality issues. They need what he can bring on the field. And they need it now.

“He’s got to put it all together,” said Gruden. “That’s what he needs to do. He’s got to start that process today. We need the very best of Swearinger.”

Despite some solid stints over 31 starts in Washington, Swearinger was waived just before the season finale. In his four starts in Arizona this season, the Cardinals weren’t getting the “very best” of Swearinger, and that was ultimately why he was let go this time.

Last season, Swearinger would have been a claim for the future. Now, in the thick of the playoff chase, he will be looked to bolster their lineup for the stretch run.

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Marquel Lee returns to practice for Raiders, starting clock on return from injured reserve

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Each team is allowed to have two players placed on injured reserve during the season to return. Last week the Raiders got rookie cornerback Isaiah Johnson back on schedule. And as of Monday, it was linebacker Marquel Lee whose return clock started as well.

That clock starts a three-week window of when the team must decide either to activate him or end his season entirely.

“NFL rules don’t allow him to play until the Kansas City game, so he’ll get a chance to be on the practice field and get re-acclimated to what he needs to do to get right,” Jon Gruden said of Lee Monday.

Lee had suffered an ankle injury in week three against the Vikings. They will face the Chiefs week 14 on December 1, which means, if Lee is activated at that time, he could play the final four games as well as any playoff games, should the Raiders reach the playoffs.

With the suspension of Vontaze Burfict in week 4, the Raiders could use Lee’s services. They also recently added free-agent linebacker, Will Compton.

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