Teams Las Vegas Raiders - The Black Hole

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With the 2021 NFL Scouting Combine operating under a different format this year, pro day workouts are taking on a heightened importance this spring. Northwestern held its pro day on Tuesday, giving a couple of the top prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft a chance to make an impression on NFL scouts.

NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales, who was on assignment in Evanston, Illinois, reports that Bears general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy both attended the session, as did Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, Raiders GM Mike Mayock and Vikings GM Rick Spielman.




Greg Newsome II
Northwestern · CB
Ranking in Daniel Jeremiah's top 50: No. 31

Newsome turned heads by blazing a 4.38 40-yard dash at 6-foot, 192 pounds. The first-team All-Big Ten corner also sprung 40 inches on the vertical leap. Boasting an enticing blend of size and athleticism, Newsome's stock continues to rise throughout the pre-draft process, with first-round chatter cropping up of late.

"He's probably going to end up going in the 20s when it's all said and done," NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Tuesday. "He's a really good football player."
 
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Greg Newsome runs fast, but disappoints in drills
The situation was very different for cornerback Greg Newsome. While the junior ran much faster in the forty than most expected at Northwestern’s 2021 Pro Day, timing 4.38 seconds, he looked terrible in position drills. One scout described Newsome as stiff while others said Newsome was gassed early on in position drills, which left a bad taste in the mouths of NFL decision-makers
 
Del Rio and Reggie McKenzie had the team on an upward swing, yes there were hits and mostly misses in the draft but nothing's changed on that front with Grudock.

Agree, thought they blew it all up too early. Reckon the players loved playing for JDR. Seemed to have a great relationship with players just from what I saw from the outside looking in.

McKenzie missed on plenty but absolutely nailed some also. Mayock and Gruden haven't come close to drafting that well.
 
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Felt sorry for JDR, thought he was very stiff to be fired when he was.

By the end of the 2017 season Del Rio had cultured a divided locker room - and when it came to on field results, losing 4 straight to end the season against some incredibly average (at best) teams, it was obvious he wasn't going to fix the issues at hand.

He was completely stiff to be fired in the way he was though, and im sure Mark Davis would regret the way he went about it. Nonetheless, Jack handled it with class that 99% of coaches would not have done.
 
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If Mark Davis wasnt so in love with Jon Gruden he probably wouldnt have fired Del Rio, or at least not so soon. Soon as Gruden was interested in returning to coaching Davis couldnt contain himself. Also, if Davis hadnt signed him for 10 years at 100m, and not in love with hin, maybe Gruden would get fired. The Raiders lost a bunch of games at the end of the 2020 season to tumble out of playoff contention. If one is to criticize Del Rios run of four losses at the end.
 
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Agree, thought they blew it all up too early. Reckon the players loved playing for JDR. Seemed to have a great relationship with players just from what I saw from the outside looking in.

McKenzie missed on plenty but absolutely nailed some also. Mayock and Gruden haven't come close to drafting that well.

Outside of Carr, Mack and Cooper, what picks did he absolutely nail? Could add Gabe Jackson potentially as a solid player but he's nothing more than slightly above average.

2012 draft was abysmal. 2013 was no better (Hayden, Watson, Moore, Tyler Wilson). 2014 A+ with Mack, Carr and Jackson. 2015 nailed the Cooper pick but the rest of that draft was horrific. 2016 was another horrendous draft (Karl Joseph et al). 2017 the failed DBs of Gareon Conley and Obi Melifonwu.

Gruden and Mayock haven't found that top end talent in the draft, but they've found a lot of solid players (albeit have overdrafted some players).
 
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If Mark Davis wasnt so in love with Jon Gruden he probably wouldnt have fired Del Rio, or at least not so soon. Soon as Gruden was interested in returning to coaching Davis couldnt contain himself. Also, if Davis hadnt signed him for 10 years at 100m, and not in love with hin, maybe Gruden would get fired. The Raiders lost a bunch of games at the end of the 2020 season to tumble out of playoff contention. If one is to criticize Del Rios run of four losses at the end.

Under Del Rio the offense had stumbled to be one of the worst in the league, and the D wasn't exactly much better. This current raiders team had a top 10 scoring offense last year, and even though they lost games down the stretch, their offense didn't ease up on points. The D was horrific but it is not as if this team is void of positives to move forward with as was the case with Del Rio in 2017.
 
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Under Del Rio the offense had stumbled to be one of the worst in the league, and the D wasn't exactly much better. This current raiders team had a top 10 scoring offense last year, and even though they lost games down the stretch, their offense didn't ease up on points. The D was horrific but it is not as if this team is void of positives to move forward with as was the case with Del Rio in 2017.
I'll grant you that. Gruden offers long-term stability, and they can gradually build year after year where other coaches didnt have that luxury. If they can fix the D and get a reliable #1 WR, they can be contenders. The D needs a LOT of pieces tho.
 
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I'll grant you that. Gruden offers long-term stability, and they can gradually build year after year where other coaches didnt have that luxury. If they can fix the D and get a reliable #1 WR, they can be contenders. The D needs a LOT of pieces tho.

I expect them to keep Agholor and would expect Ruggs to improve his production (same goes for Edwards). The biggest issue with the offense is improving the run game with the O Line.

On D just having Bradley's scheme instead of Guenthers is going to result in a solid improvement. They obviously need to improve their pass rush, and they sorely need a deep safety, but those additions would be able to paper over a lot of the cracks. No one is asking for this D to be top 5, but I can see them comfortably being in the 16-20 range with the right additions this off season.
 
Outside of Carr, Mack and Cooper, what picks did he absolutely nail? Could add Gabe Jackson potentially as a solid player but he's nothing more than slightly above average.

2012 draft was abysmal. 2013 was no better (Hayden, Watson, Moore, Tyler Wilson). 2014 A+ with Mack, Carr and Jackson. 2015 nailed the Cooper pick but the rest of that draft was horrific. 2016 was another horrendous draft (Karl Joseph et al). 2017 the failed DBs of Gareon Conley and Obi Melifonwu.

Gruden and Mayock haven't found that top end talent in the draft, but they've found a lot of solid players (albeit have overdrafted some players).

When you hit on QB and Edge rusher , irrespective of what pick, that goes a long way to making your team good. (Gabe Jackson is most definitely a "nailed" pick)

The Raiders ended up trading Mack for some "solid players" ...when you trade Mack you're not hoping for solid in return. Comparing Ferrell and Mack as top 5 picks is good for a laugh.
 
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When you hit on QB and Edge rusher , irrespective of what pick, that goes a long way to making your team good. (Gabe Jackson is most definitely a "nailed" pick)

The Raiders ended up trading Mack for some "solid players" ...when you trade Mack you're not hoping for solid in return. Comparing Ferrell and Mack as top 5 picks is good for a laugh.

I don't think Gabe Jackson was a "nailed" pick by any means. I think he was a reasonable player who Reggie McKenzie severely overpaid for on the 2nd contract.

Even if they didn't trade Mack, I don't think the quality of their D as a whole would have been any better under Guenther. Trying to compare Ferrell to Mack is stupid though - with Mack you're looking at an All-Pro talent, Ferrell isn't close to that level. At the same time, comparing them as top 5 picks isn't exactly a fair fight either. Look at the 2019 first round picks as a whole, and it is not as if there are that many guys picked in the top 15 who I would take over Ferrell at this point. It was a pretty weak class as a whole in that respect.

Outside of Mack, trying to remember the last round 1 pick we nailed on D. I know I am probably wrong, but feels like we have drafted a few CBs high over the years that have been pretty average.

Probably the 2010 first round pick that was traded to get Seymour!
 
I don't think Gabe Jackson was a "nailed" pick by any means. I think he was a reasonable player who Reggie McKenzie severely overpaid for on the 2nd contract.

Even if they didn't trade Mack, I don't think the quality of their D as a whole would have been any better under Guenther. Trying to compare Ferrell to Mack is stupid though - with Mack you're looking at an All-Pro talent, Ferrell isn't close to that level. At the same time, comparing them as top 5 picks isn't exactly a fair fight either. Look at the 2019 first round picks as a whole, and it is not as if there are that many guys picked in the top 15 who I would take over Ferrell at this point. It was a pretty weak class as a whole in that respect.



Probably the 2010 first round pick that was traded to get Seymour!

Just for lols, remove QBs (since you had Carr) and tell me which players Ferrell is better than that were selected in the first round of 2019's draft.
 
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Just for lols, remove QBs (since you had Carr) and tell me which players Ferrell is better than that were selected in the first round of 2019's draft.

Go take a look at the top 15 picks. Devin White has not been a star in Tampa - played well in Super Bowl but so did that entire Tampa D. Ed Oliver and Christian Wilkins haven't done much. Rashaan Gary has been disappointing. The guy that has shown the most from picks 4-15 was Devin Bush and even he had a season ending injury last year and is an unknown going forward.

It's not as if there was a clear guy that was a must have with that #4 pick.

Ferrell was selected 5 overall because Gruock thought hed be a Mack. Gruock have frittered away so many picks. Only Jacobs was a good get and not a reach late 1st.

This couldn't be further from the truth. There was never a belief that Ferrell was going to be a regular 10 sack/year guy. They drafted Ferrell because Guenther wanted a defensive edge setter in the run game who would pop up for 6-8 sacks a year in the mould of a Michael Johnson like he had in Cincinnati. He has shown to be a very good edge setter in the run game, and was their best pass rusher last season (although the sacks didn't exactly reflect that).

He's never going to live up to expectations that one would have as the #4 pick, but he's still a solid player, and given that the 2019 first round was pretty weak in general, I'm not going to act as if they completely whiffed on the pick.

It's hard not to like the Ngakoue deal. 2 year deal so won't affect them long term if it doesn't work out. Will be 27 at the end of the contract so still plenty of years left in him at a high level you would think. Since 2017 he has the highest amount of QB pressures by all edge rushers in the league (254 per NextGen). Since 2016 he has the 12 highest sack totals of all defensive players, 3rd highest amount of strip sacks, 6th highest amount of QB pressures per Sportsradar, and 2nd highest amount of forced fumbles.

First Bradley's scheme in the leo position perfectly as well. Really can't complain about this signing.
 
Go take a look at the top 15 picks. Devin White has not been a star in Tampa - played well in Super Bowl but so did that entire Tampa D. Ed Oliver and Christian Wilkins haven't done much. Rashaan Gary has been disappointing. The guy that has shown the most from picks 4-15 was Devin Bush and even he had a season ending injury last year and is an unknown going forward.

It's not as if there was a clear guy that was a must have with that #4 pick.



This couldn't be further from the truth. There was never a belief that Ferrell was going to be a regular 10 sack/year guy. They drafted Ferrell because Guenther wanted a defensive edge setter in the run game who would pop up for 6-8 sacks a year in the mould of a Michael Johnson like he had in Cincinnati. He has shown to be a very good edge setter in the run game, and was their best pass rusher last season (although the sacks didn't exactly reflect that).

He's never going to live up to expectations that one would have as the #4 pick, but he's still a solid player, and given that the 2019 first round was pretty weak in general, I'm not going to act as if they completely whiffed on the pick.

It's hard not to like the Ngakoue deal. 2 year deal so won't affect them long term if it doesn't work out. Will be 27 at the end of the contract so still plenty of years left in him at a high level you would think. Since 2017 he has the highest amount of QB pressures by all edge rushers in the league (254 per NextGen). Since 2016 he has the 12 highest sack totals of all defensive players, 3rd highest amount of strip sacks, 6th highest amount of QB pressures per Sportsradar, and 2nd highest amount of forced fumbles.

First Bradley's scheme in the leo position perfectly as well. Really can't complain about this signing.

All those guys you named have clearly played better than Ferrell. The only competition for "as bad" has been Gary, and even he showed quite a bit in the second half as last year. You're being a massive homer Chewy, stop it. 😂
 
And if youre knowingly drafting edge setters in the top 5 you shouldn't be allowed to make picks or be a GM.
 
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