Analyzing the Raiders' Best Offseason Move

Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus recently analyzed the most important move for every team in the American Football Conference. He believes the Raiders' addition of veteran quarterback Geno Smith was the Raiders' most important move of the offseason.

Considering how many quarterbacks the Raiders have struggled with over the past two seasons, and the fact that quarterback is the most critical position on the field, it is hard to argue that any of the other moves the Raiders made this offseason are more important than the addition of Smith.

"The Raiders over the past three seasons rank 27th in PFF passing grade. Geno Smith spent that time recording the eighth-best PFF passing grade in the league. Las Vegas sent a third-round pick to acquire him, which seems like a no-brainer with that context. Smith gives the Raiders’ offense instant credibility, especially after the team surrounded him with multiple weapons in this year’s draft," Wasserman said.

The Raiders started and ended last season with one of the worst groups of quarterbacks in the league. While Smith has room for improvement, he is undoubtedly an upgrade over the quarterbacks the Raiders trotted out last season.

Following Organized Team Activities, Raiders Offensive Coordinator, Chip Kelly, explained what he likes about his veteran quarterback. Kelly and Smith's connection will play a significant role in the Raiders' success or lack thereof this season.

"It's great, just because Geno is a football guy, like Geno loves ball," Kelly said.

"You'll get a phone call after phase two - we'll talk on a Tuesday night about what transpired that day, and we're going against ourselves, like we hadn't gone against the defense yet, but have a conversation about this and then, 'How do you see this?' And really lean on him a little bit, because of his wealth of experience, and he's been through different coordinators in this league, and some really good ones. So like, 'Hey, how did Shane [Wadron] do this when you were with him?' Or, 'How did [Ryan] Grubb do this when you were with him?'"

"And kind of pick his brain that way and then put together what's the best thing for us going forward. But he's great. Geno is literally like a second coach. When you're in that room with him and Greg Olson, there's a lot of ideas going around, and then it's just a matter of corralling it, because sometimes you can have too many ideas, like let's try to do a million things, and then you don't get good at one thing. But his football acumen is really off the charts, and it's impressive to be around him."

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