Tag: Raiders need positions

What Condition the Position is in: Assessing Raiders level of need at WR ahead of the Draft

What Condition Raiders wide receiver Position is in heading into the Draft

With the Draft weeks away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ wide receiver position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Starters: Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker
Depth: DJ Turner, Kristian Wilkerson

Davante is Davante. And he’s back in the fold despite plenty of speculation he would want to be traded. He and Meyers on each side is a solid couple starters. Tucker struggled early as a rookie – mainly with his hands – but late in the season the speedster showed improvement He would figure to be the favorite to take over in the slot for the departed Hunter Renfrow if the season started today.

Condition: Unstable

Notes: The reason this is unstable is for two reasons. First off because we don’t know if Tucker can be the answer full time in the slot. That’s a hope. Secondly, they need more depth. Right now they have enough receivers to field an active gameday roster. That’s not gonna cut it. They need competition for those spots and not just from a bunch of undrafted free agents either.

Ranking the Raiders biggest need positions ahead of free agency

Raiders have a lot of needs to think about this free agency. And in this order.

With Free Agency just over a week away, we take a look at the Raiders’ need positions ahead of free agency ranking them starting with the most critical and going from there.

Critical

Quarterback

Returning starter: ???

Depth: Chase Garbers

Free agents: Jarrett Stidham

Derek Carr is gone. Cut after nine seasons. Whether it’s free agency or the draft, adding a starting QB and a primary backup will be necessary. The Raiders need to seriously think about re-signing Stidham if for no other reason than to have an insurance plan.

Interior offensive line

Starters: Dylan Parham, Andre James, Alex Bars

Depth: Netane Muti, Hroniss Grasu, Vitaly Gurman, Jordan Meredith

Dylan Parham is the only surefire interior lineman. He can play guard or center. An upgrade for Andre James would be good too. Either way, they are desperate for at least one new starter at guard, and possibly an upgrade at another position.

Cornerback

Returning starters: Nate Hobbs

Depth: Tyler Hall, Amik Robertson, Sam Webb, Ike Brown, Bryce Cosby

Free agents: Rock Ya-Sin, Anthony Averett, Sidney Jones

Why: Hobbs can play outside but does his best work in the slot and good slot corners are not easy to find. With Rock Ya-Sin headed for free agency, there simply isn’t a surefire starter on the outside. That’s two crucial positions.

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