The 2011 Arrowhead Pride Mock Draft continues with mushin choosing for the Oakland Raiders at No. 48...
Pop quiz hot shot. You are now approaching your 1,000 year birthday and your beloved franchise has just hit .500 for the first time in nearly a decade. They were also the first team to win out against their division and not make the playoffs, but that's totally besides the point. Please pay attention to the shiney item in my other hand.
Your team just had 7 seasons of 11 losses or more, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness is lifting. How do we keep this momentum going... Of course, you fire the coach.
Many thought that perhaps Al Davis was running out of the special puppies he has bred to feed on after last year's draft made sense to the rest of humanity. Not so fast my friend. Nosferatu still has his claws deep into this franchise and is making the decisions while hopped up on Charlie Sheen's tiger blood.
But we all want to know, what will Al the Destroyer of Worlds do next....
The Raiders are the classic example of a .500 ball club. Schizophrenic is the most appropriate term for this franchise.
In the areas where Oakland is good, they are hella good.
The Raiders running game, for example, was second only to KC's and they actually ran for a higher average (OAK 4.9, KC 4.7). The Oakland passing defense was second in the league allowing only 189.2 yards per game.
And their defensive line was beastly. The addition of Seymour is hands down the best 1st round pick Oakland has had since they drafted Asomugha in 2003. The Raiders finished tied for second in the league in sacks at 47.
But in the areas where the Raiders had failures, they were of the kind of issues that the Chiefs fans have come to know and love about the new look Oakland Raiders.
Rush defense- 29th, Receiving TD's- 27th, Sacks allowed- 26th, QB's healthy enough to last an entire season season- 0.
The Raiders showed flashes of excellence, and would just as quickly spectacularly fail.
I will give them this. For the first time since 2002 I saw a Raider team that wouldn't quit, even when it was apparent they couldn't win the game. That was one hell of a coaching job there...riggghhhhttt. Moving on.
The Raiders spent all last season hiding issues with their defense at the LB and safety position.
The Raiders haven't had a decent LB corp since Napoleon Kauphman was striking fear into teams that he might be traded to. Oakland does have a potential stud in last year's 1st round pick Rolando McClain. He hasn't had time to watch all his dreams be eaten by the black hole that is Oakland. The death of his hope will provide much needed nourishment for these guys.
At the safety position, it looks as if Michael Huff is going to be allowed to leave, and Aaron Williams out of Texas would have been a real possibility here if he wasn't taken earlier by the Cowboys.
The biggest problem facing the Raiders is that instead of staying steady with the core of the team, they are on the verge of slipping back into a rebuilding year for the 15th time this decade.
Their all world CB, Asomugha is going to be a free agent with no telling where he will land. Oakland fans are hopeful, but every CB needy team in the NFL (Jets, Eagles, Cowboys) are hopeful as well.
The loss of Asomugha would be a horrible blow, but the biggest loss for the Raiders is flying under most people's radar. The defection of Robert Gallery at guard threatens to undo every good thing that Tom Cable was able to build in Oakland. It took years of beating his philosophies into all the coaches around him, and now it is all coming to an end.
Gallery may have been a bust at OT, but he was verged on being a pro-bowl mauler at OG. He was the best O-line man the silver and black had. The Raiders O-Line excelled at rush blocking behind Gallery's bulk.
Last year the Raiders took two O-lineman during the draft in an attempt to shore up the shaky unit. Oakland may have found their starting LT with Jared Veldheer. He is not the best LT in the NFL, but he is servicable.
At RT Langston Walker is entering his 10th season and is not the answer if new coach Hue Jackson wants to run a team with a QB that lives through multiple seasons.
The interior of the line is where the real hole is. Last years Height/Weight/Speed guy, Bruce Campbell was drafted to be a RT and immediately got shuffled to part-time guard. He has yet to prove he can get the job done at any position on the line.
The RG, Cooper Carlise is a smaller OG that excels at pulling and run blocking, but is entering his 12th season.
The center position is in flux. Oakland started the season with Chris Morris at C, but he later lost the position to Samson Satele later in the year. Raiders fans seem willing to stick both men on stakes like their fearless leader Vlad the Impaler used to do in his younger, wilder days.
Long story short. The Raiders O-line stinks and needs help.
So, with the 48th pick in the AP 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the Oakland Raiders select
OG/C Stefan Wisniewski, Penn State
First let me go on record saying this is a no brainer for Oakland if Wisniewski is still on the board at 48, which probably means Al will draft a kicker.
Wisniewski is exactly what the Raiders line would need. He's a 4.0 student (granted a 4.0 Penn State student) who's biggest strengths include his tenacity and motor. Where do I know a Penn State product who was described as tenacious with a high motor... Anyway Wisniewski would captain the Oakland O- line for the next decade.
And it doesn't hurt that his father, Steven Wisniewski played for the silver and black during the 90's and made the pro-bowl 8 times at guard. To boot, Al just hired Steven Wisniewski the elder as an offensive line coach/old vampire corn massager.
The biggest challenge to Wisniewski being drafted by the Raiders is the fact that he didn't throw a truck during the combine. He needs to work on his strength and will require some development, but Stefan Wisniewski has all the tools necessary to give Chiefs fans headaches for years to come.
Full Schedule & Results:
1. Carolina Panthers (ChiefsFan90s) - Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert
2. Denver Broncos (craig in calgary) - Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers
3. Buffalo Bills (Arrowdread) - Auburn QB Cam Newton
4. Cincinnati Bengals (Dirty South Chiefs Fan) - Georgia WR A.J. Green
5. Arizona Cardinals (tmurawsk) - Texas A&M OLB Von Miller
6. Cleveland Browns (H2E) - Auburn DT Nick Fairley
7. San Francisco 49ers (Another Successful Tedford QB) - LSU CB Patrick Peterson
8. Tennessee Titans (ejr58) - Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara
9. Dallas Cowboys (IamtheGreatest) - Alabama DL Marcell Dareus
10. Washington Redskins (nmchief) - Alabama WR Julio Jones
11. Houston Texans (FalconMF27) - Missouri DE Aldon Smith
12. Minnesota Vikings (Raven Hawk) - USC OT Tyron Smith
13. Detroit Lions (Matt Hays) - Boston College OT Anthony Castanzo
14. St. Louis Rams (Sam D) - Illinois DT Corey Liuget
15. Miami Dolphins (YerganFlurgan) - Alabama RB Mark Ingram
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (GenericBrand) - Cal DE Cameron Jordan
17. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Temple DE Muhammad Wilkerson
18. San Diego Chargers (Chiefscafan58) - North Carolina DE Robert Quinn
19. New York Giants (flowers 24) - Florida C Mike Pouncey
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (PSUkegreen) - Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan
21. Kansas City Chiefs (Matt_Grbac) - Baylor NT Phil Taylor
22. Indianapolis Colts (saskwatch) - Wisconsin OT Gabe Carimi
23. Philadelphia Eagles (OnlyKCFanNVA) - Colorado OT Nate Solder
24. New Orleans Saints (The Other Patrick Allen) - Georgia DE/LB Justin Houston
25. Seattle Seahawks (Simon from KC) - TCU QB Andy Dalton
26. Baltimore Ravens (Ben S) - Colorado CB Jimmy Smith
27. Atlanta Falcons (stagdsp) - Ohio State DE Cameron Heyward
28. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - UCLA LB Akeem Ayers
29. Chicago Bears (KillaCity107) - Mississippi State OT Derek Sherrod
30. New York Jets (bradelli58) - Wisconsin DE J.J. Watt
31. Pittsburgh Steelers (scottchief) - Baylor G Danny Watkins
32. Green Bay Packers (Aesthetist) - Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn
Round Two
33. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Miami G Orlando Franklin
34. Buffalo Bills (Arrowdread) - Arizona LB Brooks Reed
35. Cincinnati Bengals (Dirty South Chiefs Fan) - FSU QB Christian Ponder
36. Denver Broncos (craig in calgary) - Oregon State DT Stephen Paea
37. Cleveland Browns (H2E) - Maryland WR Torrey Smith
38. Arizona Cardinals (tmurawsk) - Washington QB Jake Locker
39.Tennessee Titans (ejr58) - Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick
40. Dallas Cowboys (IamtheGreatest) - Texas CB Aaron Williams
41. Washington Redskins (nmchief) - Arkansas QB Ryan Mallet
42. Houston Texans (FalconMF27) - UCLA S Rahim Moore
43. Minnesota Vikings (ravenhawk) - Florida State G/C Rodney Hudson
44. Detroit Lions (Matt Hays) - Miami CB Brandon Harris
45. San Francisco 49ers (Another Successful Tedford QB) - Texas DE/LB Sam Acho
46. Denver Broncos (craig in calgary) - Notre Dame TE Kyle Rudolph
47. St. Louis Rams (Sam D) - Wednesday April 13th
48. Oakland Raiders (mushin) - Wednesday April 13th
49. Jacksonville Jaguars (GenericBrand) - Wednesday April 13th
50. San Diego Chargers (Chiefsfaninca58) - Thursday April 14th
51. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (PSUkegreen) - Thursday April 14th
52. New York Giants (flowers 24) - Thursday April 14th
53. Indianapolis Colts (saskwatch) - Friday April 15th
54. Philadelphia Eagles (OnlyKCFanNVA) - Friday April 15th
55. Kansas City Chiefs (Matt_Grbac) - Friday April 15th
56. New Orleans Saints (The Other Patrick Allen) - Monday April 18th
57. Seattle Seahawks (Simon from KC) - Monday April 18th
58. Baltimore Ravens (Ben S) - Monday April 18th
59. Atlanta Falcons (stagdsp) - Tuesday April 19th
60. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Tuesday April 19th
61. San Diego Chargers (Chiefsfaninca58) - Tuesday April 19th
62. Chicago Bears (KillaCity107) - Wednesday April 20th
63. Pittsburgh Steelers (scottchief) - Wednesday April 20th
64. Green Bay Packers (Aesthetist) - Wednesday April 20th