Draft Day

Now that the Sharks and the Warriors have both been eliminated from playoff contention, Bay Area fans will turn their eyes to the next exiting sport on tap-- football. No offense to the Giants and the A's (and the sport of baseball in general) but the NFL has done everything it can to generate year-round interest, including sending Tweets of regular-season Bengal's highlights (the only kind!) in the middle of playoff basketball. And though the first round of the NBA playoffs certainly provided much entertainment, the NFL finally has the public interest back on its side-- its Draft Day!

For Raiders fans, Draft Day is like Christmas, if every Christmas you received a heaping pile of coal. Their reputation for selecting busts has lived on, even if Al Davis has not, and last year they furthered that bleak record by selecting DJ Hayden with the twelfth overall pick, and Menelik Watson in the second round-- both of whom would go on to miss a majority of the season with injuries.

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After another disappointing season landed them with a top 5 pick, why should Raiders fans be any more excited this year? The ghosts of drafts past hover around me even as I type.


Robert Gallery. Johnnie Lee Higgins. Rolando McClain. Darrius Heyward-Bey. Jamarcus Russell. DeMarcus Van Dyke. Darren McFadden?? 


There has been much speculation about the pick, and because the roster needs talent (let alone depth) in nearly every aspect, the variety of opinions have been all over the board. Many feel that Oakland will be in a great position to select the 6'1" receiver out of Clemson, Sammy Watkins, while others think Mckenzie will deal the pick to the best offer, especially because the market for Watkins is so hot across the league. There are plenty of quarterbacks being talked about, and experts say there is no reason to select a QB high when you could get a promising QB in a later round.

Perhaps it would be safest to deal the fifth-overall pick for a number of later picks, so Reggie McKenzie can continue the rebuilding process that is so long in the works. It makes a lot of sense, but it would require something that Reggie McKenzie does not have.

More time.

Make no mistake about it, McKenzie's franchise is in "win-now" mode. Coach Dennis Allen almost lost his job last season over the dismal product he put on the field, but the brass decided to bring him back for one more season-- the last on his current contract. But Dennis Allen is not the only one on the hot seat, because Reggie McKenzie's deal expires at the end of this season as well.

The Raiders have not improved under McKenzie/Allen the way that owner Mark Davis had hoped, and though his knowledge of football is debatable, the power he wields is not. It is likely he views this season as a last-shot for both coach and GM, and its twice as likely that McKenzie knows this in full.

That is why this draft is so important. McKenzie must weigh the cost of his decision. The long-term investment might not suit him-- he might not be around to see it grow! He might lean toward the high-risk, immediate impact player because he needs someone to make an impact this season. It's playoffs or bust; why else would they sign Matt Schaub? They are not trying to win the Superbowl, they are trying to make the playoffs, to save both coach and GM. And in the process, they are severely limiting their options with the #5 pick.

Politics aside, the obvious choice is Johnny Manziel.

(Eric Gay/AP Images)

The quarterback situation is extremely precarious beyond this year. In Matt Schaub, the Raiders have a banged up veteran, with less than three good seasons to his name. They traded away Pryor for two nickels and a paperclip, and McGloin seems typecast as the perfect backup quarterback. So who starts in 2015?

There is no doubt that the Raiders will select a QB at some point in this draft. That QB should be Johnny Football.

One ESPN analyst put it quite simply:

“This is the first Heisman Trophy winner as a freshman. In two years at Texas A&M, he had the most productive back-to-back seasons in SEC history. He threw for eight thousand, ran for two thousand, he has 93 touchdowns. I don't know what you want him to do. All I know is I want Manziel.”

That analyst was Jon Gruden.

(ESPN)

In Johnny Manziel, the Raiders would have a talented and mobile quarterback, with extreme confidence and a strong desire to learn. All the kid does is win. Why not let him win for us?

Let him red-shirt and learn (what not to do?) from Schaub for the year. Give him time to adjust to the pro-level. And if the Raiders struggle and Mark Davis fires Dennis Allen, bring Chucky back and let the match made in heaven come to fruition.

That alone might save Reggie McKenzie's job. But if he passes on Johnny Football for a "win-now"draft pick, he might find himself his own worst enemy.

After all, it was he who decided to bring in Matt Schaub in the first place.