Draft Gives Raiders Chance To Put Cherry on Top

Las Vegas' Hot Start

Las Vegas started the offseason cleaning house and revamping things from the top down. After adding John Spytek last offseason as their general manager, the Raiders fired Pete Carroll and hired Klint Kubiak as their new head coach. Kubiak was one of the hottest names of the coaching cycle.

The Raiders entered free agency with more money to spend than any team in the National Football League. They used that money to have arguably the best start to free agency of any team in the league, and it may not be all that arguable. Las Vegas' roster quickly improved this offseason.

By improving their coaching staff and adding several proven veterans at critical positions on both sides of the ball, the Raiders are now able to turn their attention to the third, and potentially most critical, aspect of their offseason: the NFL Draft. It will be a pivotal draft for the Silver and Black.

The Raiders' plans to rebuild their roster will require them to assemble several more draft hauls of talented players who can make an immediate impact. Many things will determine the success of Las Vegas' draft classes, but Spytek and the Raiders know just the type of player they are looking for.

“We talk so much about it. They've got to love football. They need to be great teammates. It's really something that is important to Klint [Kubiak] and to myself and to really all of us up here is being a great player, person, teammate to the guy next to you; disciplined, accountable,” Spytek said. 

“I mean a lot of the buzzwords, and a passion to play for the Raiders. I think one of the really cool things about free agency that we just saw is that we had a lot of people that wanted to come here, a lot of really good players that were playing in good programs, that sought us out and wanted to be a Raider and through the draft process, we certainly felt that this year too."

How the Raiders Can Stay Hot

Las Vegas must use the NFL Draft to address its most pressing remaining needs after its solid free-agent moves. Most notably, the Raiders desperately need to add to their group of cornerbacks. Their 10 picks in the upcoming draft give them the perfect opportunity to do so.

The Raiders must use the draft to fix their defensive backfield and add depth at other positions, such as their offensive line and group of linebackers. Depth has been one of the team's most pressing issues overall during the past few seasons. It is an issue they must address.

The draft is just the next step in Las Vegas' rebuilding process. They have to find the right players for what they want to do under Kubiak, then put them in position to succeed. Yet, it all starts and ends with adding the right talent to the right positions in free agency and the draft.

“It'll be who the best players are. And if we're doing the math right now, we've got 66 players on the roster and 10 picks, so we'll have 15 undrafted free agents right now, and our scouting department is going to do a great job of finding the right guys at the right positions, and guys that will compete and are about the right things and have a chance to make the roster and contribute,” Spytek said.