Kansas City Chiefs Fans Shouldn’t Worry About Raiders in 2019
Kansas City Chiefs fans shouldn’t worry about the Oakland Raiders this upcoming season. Sure, the Raiders have a made a few splash moves, but even through all of that they still have some serious holes and are in a rebuild mode.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders are long-time rivals. The Chiefs have had the last laugh over the last half decade whenever the two meet up, but it is worth noting that the Raiders have made some nice moves this offseason.
Before that, however, they also made some questionable moves. They got draft picks for those questionable moves and that’s why some fans might be a bit concerned about the Raiders challenging KC for the division this year.
Starting with the trades of Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper last season, Jon Gruden has stockpiled a nice collection of high draft picks in this year’s class. Partner that with their dynamite trade for All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown, and their massive contract offer to offensive lineman, Trent Brown, you could understand why their is a ton of optimism for the Raiders.
All this said, they still have protection issues with an aging and expensive interior offensive line. They still don’t have a secure runner in the back field. They just released veteran receiver Jordy Nelson and they’re allowing their best pass catcher from last season in tight end Jared Cook hit free agency.
Defensively they made a splash in signing safety Lamarcus Joyner from the Los Angeles Rams, but they still have issues at corner. They still need to find a replacement pass rusher for Mack. They don’t have any significant play makers along their defensive line.
Quarterback Derek Carr hasn’t looked same since that broken leg injury he sustained towards the end of the 2016 season and there have been plenty of rumors about his situation with the franchise moving forward.
To sum it all up, the Raiders are still a hot mess.
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The 2019 season is 100% a transition year for the Raiders, who will be playing their final season in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas. Trading for a player like Antonio Brown right now means they need to sell tickets and have players who are gonna pack the seats when they make the move in 2020.
Now that I’ve completely sat here and trashed them, I do have to say that they do intrigue me moving forward. A rival with that many high picks is dangerous and if Gruden and new GM and former NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock make smart decisions, then the Raiders could bounce back rather quickly.
Especially in a class this deep with defensive talent, the Raiders could find themselves in a good spot in say two to three years, depending how quickly they can develop their young players.
Based on last season alone, Jon Gruden looked like he was lost at times and had zero connection with his team and his players. It was rather shocking when he sent a young legend like Khalil Mack packing, but Chiefs fans all let out a collective sigh of relief after seeing him shipped to the NFC.
For Gruden though, he struggled with outspoken receiver Keyshawn Johnson back in his Tampa Bay days. What’s going to happen if the Raiders are struggling and Brown’s production is down and he starts tossing Gatorade coolers all over the sidelines and yelling at coaches?
I mean, Gruden shipped away an angel in Mack compared to Brown just because he wanted to get paid. It’s just one of those things where you stop and look at a fellow Chiefs fan and laugh and just say “Ha, Raiders.”
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The Raiders will be better down the line, but they’re not prepared nor built to win right now. The Chiefs and Chargers are still the Class of the AFC West and Chiefs fans should not be worried about them in 2019.