Las Vegas Raiders should take a chance on edge rusher Takkarist McKinley
Las Vegas Raiders should take a chance on Takkarist McKinley
What are the downsides of the Raiders signing Takk McKinley?
The only real downside at this moment is Takk McKinley’s attitude and how it might impact the locker room but that is a minimal risk at best. McKinley forced his way out of Atlanta by pouting about playing time and was another example of a high draft pick not getting along with his organization.
The Falcons organization has been in somewhat of an upheaval these past few years and are in the middle of their third straight losing season. This is not to excuse McKinley’s behavior or lack of professionalism but sometimes all of the losing can get to a player and cause him to act out in search of a better situation.
Raiders fans are all too familiar with a pass rusher doing this after Bruce Irvin forced his way out of Oakland in year one of this Jon Gruden era.
The Raiders can sign McKinley at minimal risk to the team and give him a chance to prove what he can do on a team that is sorely need of someone that can get to the quarterback. He can rush the passer in obvious passing situations and give the defense a speed rusher thanks to his 4.59 40 time.
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The Silver and Black also have a mature locker room with the likes of Derek Carr, Rodney Hudson, and Kyle Wilber to keep McKinley in line if he acts up or gets out of line. Gruden and Mike Mayock may be wary of signing a guy that has a history of attitude problems after the Antonio Brown fiasco but they have the leadership in place to manage him and can release him with minimal risk.
The bottom line is that the Raiders will need to improve their pass rush if they hope to make a run to the postseason and Takk McKinley is a low risk, high reward way to do so.