Oakland Raiders: Bleacher Report’s Top 1000 Rankings
Bleacher Report continued their annual series of ranking the top 1000 players in the NFL. Here is how many Oakland Raiders appeared on the list, and where they rank at their position.
Players were also graded on a scale of 100, so the first number listed will represent that. The second will be their positional rank.
- Derek Carr – Grade of 75, ranked 19th at his position: This feels too low. Carr was a borderline top ten quarterback for much of the season, before his production took a dip. Stafford, Tannehill, Cutler, Eli, Bradford are all ranked ahead of him.
- Latavius Murray – Grade of 73, ranked 30th at his position: I’m not the biggest Murray fan, but he’s better than the 30th at his position. I mean, he did finish second in the AFC in rushing yards. A lot of that was volume based, but it counts for something. Also, I’m not sure how it can be justified for Devontae Booker to be ranked higher than Murray.
- DeAndre Washington – Grade of 73, ranked 35th: Washington is in the same tier as Murray, and while he impressed in the preseason, it seems high. He’s ranked ahead of players like Ameer Abdullah, Justin Forsett and T.J. Yeldon.
- Jamize Olawale and Marcel Reece – Grades of 74 and 73, ranked 3rd and 4th: This one seems just right. Olawale being ranked ahead of Reece is great recognition by the analysts, instead of just putting Reece ahead based on past accomplishments.
- Amari Cooper – Grade of 80, ranked 33rd: Most will probably argue this is too low, and they would be right. Cooper finished 20th in receiving yards in his rookie season, while also dealing with a nagging injury in the second part of the season. Danny Amendola shouldn’t be ranked ahead of him, among some of the others.
- Michael Crabtree – Grade of 78, ranked 39th: This ranking is about right. Crabtree’s company is Emmanuel Sanders, Marvin Jones, Brandin Cooks and Keenan Allen. He’s right in that tier, so I have no problem with Crab’s ranking.
- Seth Roberts – Grade of 72, ranked 81st: No problem with this ranking, either. Seth has flashed quality play, but it’s hard to say what his production would be like without Cooper and Crabtree drawing all the attention.
- Clive Walford, Mychal Rivera and Lee Smith – Grades of 71, 69 and 69. Ranked 32, 39 and 42: Walford is poised for a breakout season, but his numbers from last season don’t jump off the page. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of improvement he sees on next year’s list. Lee Smith doesn’t do much of anything in the pass game, so it’s hard to argue that he should be higher.
- Donald Penn – Grade of 85, ranked 9th. It’s great to see Penn still getting respect as a top ten left tackle. His play declined in the second half of the season, but this ranking is about right.
- Menelik Watson and Austin Howard – Grades of 70 and 69, ranked 35th and 36th: No complaints here, as both have had up and down careers. Watson has flashed but can’t stay healthy. Howard was quality in 2015 but he’s no world-beater.
- Gabe Jackson – Grade of 79, ranked 7th. Having Big Gabe ranked as the seventh best guard in the league is great to see. He’s a mauler and has as much of a mean streak as any offensive lineman in the league.
- Kelechi Osemele – Grade of 75, ranked 16th: This is criminally low for Osemele. He’s been one of the best guards in the league for at least the last two seasons. If Gabe is 7th, K.O. should at least be 6th.
- Rodney Hudson – Grade of 72, ranked 8th: This might sound a little low, but there are some very good centers in the NFL right now. The top two or three are set, and the next four or five are all pretty close.
- Mario Edwards Jr. – Grade of 65, ranked 21st: Edwards Jr. is listed as a 3-4 DE, which is fine. With his versatility, he could have been listed in a few different places, but borderline top 20 sounds about right. He exceeded expectations in his rookie year, and it’s too bad an injury will slow down his sophomore campaign.
- Denico Autry and Justin Ellis – Grade of 57, ranked 42nd and 43rd: Autry and Ellis have similar stories. Both have flashed really impressive play, but have had trouble finding consistency. So until that happens, it’s hard to justify either player being ranked higher.
- Shilique Calhoun – Grade of 63, ranked 35th: Calhoun is listed as a 4-3 DE, and while I don’t think this is the best position to list him at, his ranking is fine. Maybe a little high, as he is ahead of some vets like Adrian Clayborn.
- Dan Williams and Jihad Ward – Grades of 64 and 63, ranked 62nd and 66th: If this ranking is based on 2015 film, than Dan needs to be ranked higher. He was really good last season, and was probably Oakland’s second best defensive player. Ward’s ranking might be appropriate, but there should be a bigger gap here.
- Darius Latham – Grade of 57, ranked 81st: Latham makes a surprise appearance on the list. He was very good in college and impressive in the preseason, so I like the recognition to get him included.
- Khalil Mack: Grade of 91, ranked 1st: I wonder how upset people are about this, particularly Broncos fans. It must have been hard to put a young player like Mack above someone like Von Miller, but it’s the right call. Mack proved last year he can be an elite pass rusher and a dominant run defender.
- Aldon Smith: Grade of 71, ranked 16th: This one is too high. If this was 2012, then sure. Well, he’d be higher if that was the case. But the point is, Aldon has hardly played recently thanks to suspensions, and he wasn’t all that impressive during his time in Oakland.
- Malcolm Smith and Bruce Irvin – Grades of 78 and 76, ranked 7th and 9th: Seeing Malcolm this high is a surprise. He’s very good, but it’s hard to say that he’s better than Mychal Kendricks, DeAndre Levy or Tevin Smith. Similar things can probably be said for Bruce Irvin.
- Neiron Ball – Grade of 68, ranked 21st: It’s been a small sample size for Neiron, but he played well when given the chance. But for the second year in a row, an injury will sideline him. So this is too high taking everything into account.
- Cory James – Grade of 46, ranked 58th: James is going to get a lot of snaps this year, and if he can keep up his preseason play, I’m excited to see where he ranks next season.
- Ben Heeney – Grade of 73, ranked 21st: Too high. Heeney is athletic, but that’s about it. He’s shaky against the run, struggles to take on blocks, and is average in coverage.
- Sean Smith – Grade of 76, ranked 16th: This ranking is about right. It could be nitpicked that he should be higher, but many of the CB’s in this neighborhood are close.
- David Amerson – Grade of 48, ranked 106th: This is the biggest gripe I have of any Raiders player. Amerson was very good last season, which was a huge surprise. He was tied for 13th in interceptions, and was getting a pass deflection every time you looked. Maybe they were accidentally watching 2014 film when Amerson was given a grade.
- T.J. Carrie and D.J. Hayden – Grades of 45 and 42, ranked 121 and 129: It’s unfortunate that Carrie has fallen this low after his standout rookie season. Hayden could be ranked 250th and I’d say it was too high.
- Reggie Nelson – Grade of 75, ranked 10th: Based on 2015 alone, Nelson should be a few spots higher. He led the NFL in interceptions, and also is solid in run defense. But it’s a talented safety group, so it’s hard to complain too much.
- Karl Joseph – Grade of 75, ranked 12th: This is a lofty ranking for Joseph, but the analysts base it off college film, and Joseph’s is top-notch. His preseason doesn’t justify this ranking, so he’ll have some work to do to live up it.
- Sebastian Janikowski – Grade of 60, ranked 25th: I’m curious to know what Raiders fans think of this ranking. Half the fanbase loves Jano and the other half hates him.
- Marquette King – Grade of 66, ranked 18th: This one is too low. King isn’t given enough credit for distance, and his low accuracy grade hurts his positional ranking. No matter — if King can punt like he did in the preseason, he’ll find himself ranked quite a bit higher in next year’s list.