Raiders should’ve exercised more patience with Alex Leatherwood
He will be back
Looking ahead, Leatherwood will land on his feet somewhere. He has too much talent to not do so. He was a classic case of a player being forced into a scheme to play out of his position. Sound familiar? It should. That was a defining factor during Gruden’s reign. Remember that Paul Guenther defense? I digress.
Gruden and Mayock over-drafted him and, by doing so, placed unrealistic expectations on the Alabama product.
Fans argue that they didn’t dislike Leatherwood, but rather how the Raiders acquired him. To that, you could give the old adage, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” A team in need of a run-blocking boost will pick him up. A run-heavy team, such as the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, or maybe even the Chicago Bears, should look into him.
Personally speaking, he’d be a great fit for the Ravens. Leatherwood could start at left guard; he’s undoubtedly a better run blocker than Ben Powers. Interestingly enough, that’s another route that the Raiders never explored, perhaps moving Leatherwood to left guard.
Raiders: All eyes are on Carmen Bricillo and the offensive line
The Raiders OL is definitely an area of concern for the production of this new offense, Can Carmen Bricillo turn it around up front on offense?
In the end, it doesn’t matter anymore. The new Raiders’ brass decided to wash their hands of this disaster of a pick by Gruden and Co. As it tends to happen with many players who leave the Raiders, maybe Leatherwood ends up finding greener pastures.