The news media has destroyed the Raiders about their draft picks of the last few years because the high round picks have not produced as the team envisioned.
We do not know what the draft picks this year are going to do, but just the picks themselves tells us that the team is going in a different direction.
Listening to Coach Cable’s press conference the last two days really shows that the team has a plan and they are sticking to it. This is becoming interesting and fun for all of us.
In the first round the Raiders picked ILB Rolando McClain. Linebacker was not the most pressing position for the team. Coach Cable said that the top four prospects on the team’s board were gone (Suh, McCoy, Williams, and Okung). They took the guy next on their board. This guy is going to be a starter from day one and I think he will be that “thumper” in the middle the team has been looking for.
This is where it gets interesting. In the second round the Raiders picked DT Lamarr Houston. When they made this pick, I have to admit I was not that excited about it. I really like Houston, but he seems more like an under tackle than a nose tackle. The team has quite a few under tackles but not a true nose tackle so I was a little puzzled with the pick.
In Coach Cable’s press conference he said that they would be moving Houston to left defensive end. WOW! Talk about a shock. No one saw that one coming. One of the reporters asked “When you say Houston is an end in your scheme, you are talking about a 4-3 end, wouldn’t that still make you a little light at tackle ri...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
