Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie Should Be Executive of the Year

In his fifth season as General Manager of the Oakland Raiders, Reggie McKenzie has proven why he should be the Executive of the Year.

Back in 2012, the Oakland Raiders announced that they would be hiring a scout out of Green Bay by the name of Reggie McKenzie. Most of Raider Nation did not know what to expect. From practically 1972-2011, Raiders fans only knew of one guy who called the shots in football operations — Al Davis.

This was a transitional period for the Raiders franchise. The future looked bleak, and it seemed like the Raiders were on course for another decade of consistent humiliation and losing.

In 2012, in McKenzie’s first year, he would hire Dennis Allen. With little to no cap space to work with and nearly no draft picks, the Raiders were in full on tank mode. To no surprise, the Raiders finished 4-12 in McKenzie’s first year. Same ‘ol Raiders right?

In 2013, McKenzie would finally have some draft picks that he could build a foundation on. Looking back at it now, many will scoff at the fact that D.J. Hayden was selected in the 1st round. In McKenzie’s defense, the 2013 first-round draft class was not the strongest. The real foundational pieces were found in the 6th round. Those players would include Latavius Murray, Mychal Rivera and Stacy McGee. McKenzie also re-introduced a familiar face to the organization — Charles Woodson. The Raiders would finish this year with the same end result. 4-12.

Then, 2014 happened. McKenzie did not only find foundational pieces, he found franchise changing players and future NFL superstars via the draft. Those players would happen to be Khalil Mack and Derek Carr. McKenzie found real value in the later rounds with Gabe Jackson, Justin Ellis, Travis Carrie, and also found Seth Roberts and Denico Autry as undrafted free agents. McKenzie also signed veterans Justin Tuck and Donald Penn in the offseason.

The Raiders would go on to finish 3-13 and many were questioning if McKenzie knew what he was actually doing. Little did people know that the foundation was completely laid.

In the 2015 season, the Raiders would make a head coaching change, firing Dennis Allen. McKenzie would go on to hire Bay Area native Jack Del Rio to lead the team. Del Rio not only helped change the culture, but he made sure that this team was always competitive. Del Rio was a revelation because he did not make excuses and demanded the most out of his guys.

In the same offseason, via free agency, McKenzie signed Malcolm Smith, Rodney Hudson, Lee Smith, Nate Allen and Dan Williams.

In the 2015 draft, the Raiders would select Amari Cooper in the 1st round and found great value in the later rounds by drafting Mario Edwards Jr. (who was considered a reach), Clive Walford, Jon Feliciano, Ben Heeney and Neiron Ball. All were contributors for the Raiders in the 2015 season.

Along with the rookies, Derek Carr took major strides in his 2nd season. Carr threw for 32 touchdown and nearly 4,000 passing yards. Along with Carr, Khalil Mack made history as he was elected as an All-Pro at two positions and finished 2nd in the NFL with 15 sacks. The Raiders made that show towards progress and finished with a 7-9 record and gave something Raider Nation to be excited about for the next year.

In 2016, McKenzie came out swinging. McKenzie would sign free agents Bruce Irvin, Kelechi Osemele, Sean Smith, Reggie Nelson, Daren Bates and Brynden Trawick. Along with those signings, McKenzie would re-sign Donald Penn and Andre Holmes.

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In the 2016 draft, the Raiders found themselves at an awkward spot, at pick #14. McKenzie would make the most out of it by drafting Karl Joseph in the 1st round. Along with Joseph, McKenzie would draft DeAndre Washington, Jihad Ward, Shilique Calhoun, Connor Cook, Corey James and Vadal Alexander. All 7 of these draft picks were contributors this season.

The one factor in the equation that separates McKenzie from the rest of pack for Executive of the year, were the undrafted gems that he found. Those gems would be Jalen Richard, Darius Latham, James Cowser, Johnny Holton and Denver Kirkland.

Along with the many rookie contributions, Derek Carr had his best season as a pro. Carr finished with 28 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, nearly 4,000 passing yards, and earned himself MVP consideration. Khalil Mack led the team with 11 sacks and is currently a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and gained a reputation as one the best closers in the game. The Raiders’ offensive line was a top 2 group this year and featured 3 pro bowlers and 1 pro bowl reserve.

In total, the Raiders had 7 pro bowlers and 3 all-pros. All 7 pro bowlers were either home-grown draft picks, or free agents. The Raiders finish with a 12-4 record and their first playoff berth in 14 years. And with a healthy Derek Carr, who knows what could have happened.

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Reggie McKenzie has earned the right to be in the conversation for Executive of the year. McKenzie has laid down a solid foundation and has brought a winning culture back to Oakland. His route to this point might not have been the smoothest, but McKenzie has provided a blueprint on how to build a team from the ground-up, and give GM’s and Executives something to mimic when building their own teams.

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