Should the Las Vegas Raiders sign a premier guard, or draft a prospect?
What if the Raiders sign an instant upgrade?
Fans are probably punching their phone or computer screens, scoffing at the notion that the Raiders would spend big money on a guard. Nevertheless, you can’t keep harping ‘defense, defense‘ and ignore the other side of the ball.
Yes, the Raiders’ offense was efficient but let’s not mince words, it’s far from elite. Carr will need at least an average defense for the Raiders to make any noise, but the run game has to lead the way,
Far too often we saw the run game abandoned with the team falling behind in games. Investing in an upper-tier guard to replace Incognito or Jackson would be optimal. Understandably, it will depend on what they do with many of their expensive contracts.
But let’s play devil’s advocate for a second, who would really make that level of impact?
Brandon Scherff or Joe Thuney, anyone?
Both Scherff and Thuney will command big money, and justifiably so, which means the Raiders won’t get either cheap.
Scherff is now a First-Team All-Pro who got the franchise tag from the Washington Football Team this season. One thing that will hurt Scherff’s value is his health, as he’s missed 16 games since 2018, per Pro Football Reference.
Scherff’s run blocking PFF grade of 80.1 is truly elite, can you imagine that prowess in front of Jacobs? Head coach Jon Gruden could truly take it back to 1998.
Thuney is a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, so he’d bring some serious winning pedigree. Unlike Scherff, Thuney has been healthy during his career, since 2016 he’s played in all 80 regular-season games. By all accounts, the Patriots are quietly rebuilding so paying top-notch coin for Thuney won’t be a priority.
Next. Revisiting the 1980 Oakland Raiders entering Wild Card Weekend. dark
If the Raiders can clear some cap space, investing in Thuney should warrant at least a thought. His PFF run-blocking grade of 70.2 is essentially better than the Raiders offensive line as a whole.
Thoughts, Raider Nation? What if the Raiders used the draft to stockpile the defense and cleared some cap space and rebuilt the offensive line?