Oakland Raiders 2013 NFL Draft Wish List No. 3: MLB Manti Te’o

Last week, the Oakland Raiders faced off against the Denver Broncos.  In a game that was expected to be somewhat close, the Raiders were blown out after trailing by just four points at halftime.  

While many things went wrong during the game, there was one thing that really stuck out for me.  Last week, I wrote an article about how the Raiders need players who hustle.  If you were to look at the Raiders' depth chart, one player who does not hustle is middle linebacker Rolando McClain.

Rolando McClain is a player who was expected to take the next step this season.  He is very young and was considered to be a very talented player who would exceed under Oakland's first defensive-minded coach in many years.  And he did just that, for one week.

In the season opener against the Chargers, McClain had his best game as a professional player.  He was quick to the hole and hit with force.  He had actually looked like a player who was drafted in the top 10.  The McClain-led defense held the Chargers to just 22 points, despite all of the special teams woes.

For every good play he had in Week 1, he had a bad play in the weeks following.  In Week 4 against the Broncos, McClain was putrid.  The man was jogging during plays.  He lacked, you guessed it, hustle. 

Time and time again, the Raider Nation has found excuses to defend McClain.  Personally, I've had enough of the excuses.  Last season, it was the nagging foot injury and the highly inappropriate gun incident.  This year, it is more injuries such as the concussion and ankle injury.



Now, I don't want to sound like a heartless jerk, but many players have played with ankle injuries and many have shown much more effort than he has.  

I, for one, have had enough with him and I think it's time to replace the man as the defensive leader.  The man I want in t...

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