Has Reggie McKenzie Actually Made the Oakland Raiders Worse?

As the Oakland Raiders continue the new era under principal owner Mark Davis, the question remains whether general manager Reggie McKenzie is setting up this once respectable franchise up for more failure in the past year. After another losing season in which the Raiders finished with the third worst record in the National Football League, the concern is whether the former Green Bay Packers personnel guru will ever turn this franchise around.

My answer to that is simple: No, McKenzie is the solution to turning arguably the worst roster into a winning one. But the reality of the situation is that it will take beyond 2014, the likely year where significant improvement is expected to be made, for this team to show any signs of returning to glory in the foreseeable future.

The reality is that McKenzie entered a situation where it appears impossible he will ever win. With an overblown amount of salary cap due to contracts that were given to Carson Palmer and Richard Seymour, McKenzie has been given absolutely no leeway to find any bargains at low rates that can make an immediate impact on this roster.

He also wasn't given any favors as he began preparing for the 2012 draft. Due to the Palmer trade, McKenzie did not possess a single draft pick until the third round, and to make matters worse it turned out to be a compensatory pick.

Based on the first year alone, McKenzie needs to be given a pass. He developed a football mind while working for Ted Thompson, one of the elite general managers in this game, and has a knack for talent. There is a reason the Packers have been contenders in the NFL for the majority of the past decade (minus Aaron Rodgers' first year as a starter).

In fact, the worst-kept secret in the league is the easiest way to build a formidable contender. It's not a coincidence that the teams who have become consistent winners are never extremely active during the first week of free agency and never...

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