The Las Vegas Raiders had one of the most impressive offseasons in the NFL. The Silver and Black acquired premier talent in the form of Davante Adams and Chandler Jones, while also having a solid draft this past April. General manager Dave Ziegler has done a commendable job of filling out the roster with other acquisitions, including an impressive UDFA class. Still, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell isn’t too impressed, to put it mildly. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, given his track record.
If you don’t recall, Barnwell is the writer that famously said that the Raiders would regret trading for Adams. While he mentioned that it’s always fun for a team to acquire a superstar player, buyer’s remorse is a possibility. In fact, Barnwell pointed to several factors as a reason for that trade not working out in the Raiders’ favor. He listed Adams’ age (29), the strength of the AFC, and losing Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback, among other reasons.
What did Bill Barnwell have to say about the Las Vegas Raiders?
With the regular season nearly here, Barnwell recently ranked the best and worst offseasons in the NFL. To no one’s surprise, Barnwell chose the Raiders as one of the worst. Essentially, he points to the same reasons he did back in March.
“I wrote at length about the Adams trade when it happened. He is a great player, but the combination of his aging curve, the Raiders’ needs elsewhere on the roster, the move away from Aaron Rodgers, and the surplus value in trading two valuable picks to the Packers gives me pause.”
In addition, Barnwell is critical of the roster that the Raiders have put together, stating that both Ziegler and Josh McDaniels are in over their heads.
“It’s difficult to imagine the guy who used to manage McDaniels and Ziegler making this same deal, and he’s pretty good at managing rosters.”
Well, the Raiders won’t have to wait too long to prove their doubters wrong. Either the moves that Ziegler executes will be genius-level or they’re going to blow up in his face.
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*Top Photo: ESPN/NFL