As the Las Vegas Raiders approach the 2020 NFL draft, two recent departures serve as memory of a failed administration.
There was a time when Raider Nation was just as equally excited about a general manager not named Mike Mayock. Of course Mayock hit a grand slam with last year’s draft class and many fans believe he’ll do it again this month. Yet, back when Reggie McKenzie called rough shot as Raiders’ boss, he too had promise. No one’s comparing Mayock and McKenzie as they both had different sets of situations to work with, literally apples and oranges. In spite of that, McKenzie’s failures were recently highlighted once again.
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The departures of Karl Joseph and DeAndre Washington marked an ever increasing distance from that adminstration. It’s not a knock on those players either. Due to system and personnel adjustments, most players from the McKenzie era are no longer in Silver and Black.
As Vic Tafur of the Athletic pointed out via his Twitter, there’s now only seven players left from that era. Or as he eloquently called them then, “The Magnificent Seven.”
The departure of Karl Joseph & DeAndre Washington means only 7 #Raiders remain since Jon Gruden took over in Jan. 2018.
The Magnificent Seven: QB Derek Carr, C Rodney Hudson, G Gabe Jackson, RB Jalen Richard, LB Nicholas Morrow, LB Marquel Lee & S Erik Harris.— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) April 8, 2020
Raiders Blog: All That Remains…
As Metallica once famously sang, “only the memory remains” and this is true for a management that also once had promise. Looking back, it’s safe to say that McKenzie was not a good talent evaluator and was basically able to live off the home run that was the 2014 draft class. Credit is however due as he was able to get the Raiders out of financial purgatory.
As for the Raiders current roster, there are a few remaining cornerstone players that even Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden can acknowledge were worth keeping. An anchor at center, Rodney Hudson was undoubtedly McKenzie’s greatest free agent signing. And then, there’s Derek Carr, who’ll be the franchise quarterback well, until he’s not. The rest of the corp is rounded off by a solid running back in Jalen Richard and guard Gabe Jackson, who many hope can return to form.
Say what you will about McKenzie, his regime failed to put together a championship team though he did have success in other departments. As for Mayock, Raider Nation can only hope he’ll be judged differently in five years, or best case scenario, still calling the shots in Vegas.
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