Which Oakland Raiders Players Are Foundation Pieces?

Missed The Cut

Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Brice Butler (12) carries the ball during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Brice Butler, Andre Holmes, Menelik Watson, Nate Allen and Malcolm Smith are the most notable exclusions.

Butler is the name I would pick as the player with the best chance to jump into the “quality younger starters” tier. He flashed impressive ability last season but was unable to be consistent with his production.

Watson is the highest drafted of the players who missed the cut, but he’s struggled with both his performance and his health, and he’s not even a sure thing to win his position battle.

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Malcolm Smith certainly has a chance to prove himself to be more than the role player he was in Seattle, and his familiarity with Ken Norton Jr. can definitely help with that.

So, while all of these guys are decent players in their own right, on a contending team, they wouldn’t serve as much more than rotational pieces.

Also, since this article is about building blocks who can be with the team for several years to come, veterans such as Donald Penn, Justin Tuck, Marcel Reece, Sebastian Janikowski and Charles Woodson aren’t included.

As mentioned earlier, Dan Williams and Crabtree could also be included in this veteran group that didn’t make the cut, but I felt that they were young enough to be included as quality young starters.

Next: Raiders Foundation Pieces: Overview