Raiders Fans Need To Breathe, Exercise Patience With Front Office
The Cable Effect
Let’s 100% clear: Tom Cable should never be in charge of a draft war room. However, he should get a lot of say in the type of offensive linemen we bring in. Since right tackle was a desperate need it makes some sense. The Raiders have a history under Mayock of picking their perceived best player available at a need on Day 1.
According to Mayock, Tom Cable was pushing hard for Leatherwood. He saw him as a stud tackle for his system that he could coach up to be great. Given his track record, you shouldn’t doubt him just yet.
Could he have had the same results with Darrisaw? Maybe. But he knows his system better than anyone, and you have to trust that.
The Raiders got cleaned out on the offensive line this year and had a massive hole. Not trying to fill it would have been the death knell for their offense.
Fills a Need
Leatherwood does fill a need. We may have reached, but we didn’t reach for a running back or a player that doesn’t help the Raiders win games.
By most accounts, he’s a pretty good player. Held his own at Alabama, award winner, great physical tools, and no health issues. The argument that we could have traded down always stings a little bit but there was a run on tackles in the mid-first.
We can’t know for sure if Leatherwood would have been a target but it might not be completely wild to think that. When the first round ended, a lot of players that were projected to go early were left on the board for Day 2.
Does that mean the team’s brass outsmarted everyone? Not likely. However, there was a little more unpredictability in how this draft shaped out late. Minnesota could have taken Leatherwood instead of Darrisaw. A team could have jumped back into the late first-round for him.
If he really was the guy you have to shoot your shot and take him.
Give It Time
Even if you think this was malpractice by Gruden and Mayock, these things do take time to pan out. After all, these reaches in the first round like Clelin Ferrell and Damon Arnette are becoming commonplace.
It’s not working out so far.
That’s not to say that the trend can’t change with Leatherwood though. Whether you think he’s a stud in the making or a colossal bust it usually takes a good three years to determine the worth of a pick. We’ll have to keep an eye on him compared to Darrisaw and Teven Jenkins. Those were the only other possibilities for tackles in that slot.
If this does work out the Raiders have filled their unit with two cornerstones in Leatherwood and Miller. If it doesn’t, they take a huge step back after they jettisoned 60 percent of their offensive line in the offseason.
J.J. Watt and Aaron Donald were mid-round picks. It really doesn’t matter when the player is picked if they’re a cornerstone at their position. Once you’re outside of the top-10 (which is quarterback land) you just need to land a really good player.
We owe it to Leatherwood, and our anxiety as a fanbase, to give it time.
