Raiders Fire GM: Guess we know who traded Mack & Cooper

[conner01]

Doesn't look great so far.

If he was smart, he'd take the best QB they can get in the 1st this year and unload Carr for more picks.

Going after a QB is the only thing that makes any sense with those trades
But this is not the year I want to go all in for a QB myself

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

He already has 3 1st in this next year draft and 2 the following year. Why does he need more picks? He will have an abundance of riches after that first round. Look for his team to rise quickly. Shades of the Herschel Walker trade?

If Bears and Cowboys keep winning.....those picks are going to be late round 1st rounders. They might as well be 2nd round picks. Don't get me wrong.....you have a shot at getting 3 top 30 guys in the draft. That's lethal. But is it worth it when you got rid of Cooper and Mack who seem to be striving? Seems like coaching needs to be upgraded if you ask me.

 

[conner01]

It is. I get why they got rid of Cooper and everyone agreed with them at the time especially for the compensation. But trading both Cooper and Mack.....it just makes no sense. That's two essentially game changers when in a league its hard to find those guys. Raiders screwed up with Mack since he was dominant but the defense sucked.

Cooper I can see
Mack though is an elite pass rusher
They are hard to find
It has to be they want to move on from Carr
That’s the only logical explanation but they didn’t pick a great year for a QB

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Going after a QB is the only thing that makes any sense with those trades
But this is not the year I want to go all in for a QB myself

Problem with that is Raiders essentially have nothing. No receivers, no running backs, no skilled position.....so you draft a quarterback with nothing around him. They got rid of Mack and Cooper when they probably should've been looking to move Carr.

 

[Setackin]

Gruden might look like a genius after this draft class? So, just have to wait and see what he gets with all of his first round picks, then decide if he is nuts or not.

Unless Calvin Johnson and Rey Lewis are in this draft class I doubt it lol

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Cooper I can see
Mack though is an elite pass rusher
They are hard to find
It has to be they want to move on from Carr
That’s the only logical explanation but they didn’t pick a great year for a QB

They are in trouble.......I think they'd have some takers for Carr.......I don't see why the Commanders wouldn't be one of those teams.......but goodness.......Raiders are in for a mess.

 

[Keithfansince5]

If Bears and Cowboys keep winning.....those picks are going to be late round 1st rounders. They might as well be 2nd round picks. Don't get me wrong.....you have a shot at getting 3 top 30 guys in the draft. That's lethal. But is it worth it when you got rid of Cooper and Mack who seem to be striving? Seems like coaching needs to be upgraded if you ask me.

Perhaps, which which is why I said let's wait to see after the draft to see what happens. If they screw those picks up then ya, they should light the torches o him. However, if he lands some blue chip players, they are in great shape for 5 years to come. We need to revisit this in late April.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Unless Calvin Johnson and Rey Lewis are in this draft class I doubt it lol

He's proven he can't even evaluate talent so how am I suppose to have faith in him drafting guys?

 

[Keithfansince5]

Unless Calvin Johnson and Rey Lewis are in this draft class I doubt it lol

What if an Aaron Donald, Zeke and Julio Jones type falls to them?

 

[ClintDagger]

The Amari trade made sense for them. He was “disinterested” for whatever reason and not playing to his potential. The Mack trade gets more heat, but he’s almost 28 and it’s doubtful he’ll be elite by the time they’re competitive. They need to trade Carr on draft day, maybe to a Jax type team. I think what they’re trying to do makes sense.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Perhaps, which which is why I said let's wait to see after the draft to see what happens. If they screw those picks up then ya, they should light the torches o him. However, if he lands some blue chip players, they are in great shape for 5 years to come. We need to revisit this in late April.

Well this is another thing...in history....how many times have guys hit on more than 1 first rounder when they have multiple picks?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

What if an Aaron Donald, Zeke and Julio Jones type falls to them?

Based on history? That's highly unlikely......in that 1st round.....there are going to be 15-20 busts if not more. And that goes the later those picks are. Their 1st round pick...odds are it should be a good pick. They should get a franchise player but even those guys are busts at times.

 

[Screw The Hall]

Gruden might look like a genius after this draft class? So, just have to wait and see what he gets with all of his first round picks, then decide if he is nuts or not.

I'm in the minority, but I've said all along you can't judge Gruden on these transactions for quite sometime. Of course the trades look bad for him right now, his 2 best players are suiting up elsewhere while he hasn't seen the fruits of his trades yet. I don't think you'll be able to fully diagnose all of it successfully for a good 3 years. Once you see the impact of all the retooling he is able to do with that kind of draft ammunition, then we'll see.

I'll say this, I'd rather lose big for a couple years and retool quickly for a championship run than wallow around in mediocrity for a decade with no playoff wins to show for it. I think that is his plan, we'll see if he has the skill as a franchise builder to pull it off. I've never seen that as a particular strength of his though.

 

[TheCount]

Those trades were all Gruden. McKenzie took the fall.

I used to think so, but not anymore.

There was a story last week about how people think it was Gruden that made the calls, but that in actuality it was a grudge between someone at the Raiders and an Agent who refused an offer the Raiders considered fair.

Cooper & Mack share an agent and that certainly aligns with the GM being fired.

 

[Alexander]

Those trades were all Gruden. McKenzie took the fall.

Absolutely.

The uneducated eye who has not been paying attention sees it as some sort of retribution for Cooper and Mack.

That is far from the case.

McKenzie was on his way out for a while. And he was the guy who drafted the pair of them.

So this idea that he got fired because Cooper and Mack are doing well is just stupid.

The real issue is how Mark Davis dealt with Joel Segal, who represents both players.​

 

[TheCount]

The Amari trade made sense for them. He was “disinterested” for whatever reason and not playing to his potential. The Mack trade gets more heat, but he’s almost 28 and it’s doubtful he’ll be elite by the time they’re competitive. They need to trade Carr on draft day, maybe to a Jax type team. I think what they’re trying to do makes sense.

Mack held out, he didn't want to be there either.

 

[CWR]

What a difference 5 weeks can make. Raider nation was drooling at our draft pick, now they are wondering why the hell they couldn't get Coop the ball.

 

[ClintDagger]

Mack held out, he didn't want to be there either.

Ah that’s right. I had forgotten that. Well I don’t see why you fire guy for those two trades then.

 

[Bullflop]

No way Gruden wasn't 100% on board with it.

Rappaport reported on NFLN today that Gruden was totally unaware of those trades being finalized. He even asked Rappaport WTH was going on.

 

[Bullflop]

When you pay Gruden what they did I don’t buy that he had no input in trading your two best players

Things have been going on in Oakland for a long time that nobody can make any sense of. Nothing new. Is Gruden lying? Who knows.