We are officially in Fake Awards SZN, which is the Raiders' time to shine. Being one of the worst teams in football was a problem for the regular season; now that it's over, the Raiders can go back to doing what they do: trading on the potential of their name. They're back!
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And we have an absolute banger to start the season off: Pro Football Focus' All-Rookie team! The stats folks over at PFF put together a comprehensive list of, you guessed it, good rookies for all of us to click on! It's not much, but it's honest work. So for the purposes of this one exercise, we're no longer mad at PFF. That will obviously change the second their stats don't speak well of the Raiders, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let's celebrate how correct they are about Brock Bowers and Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Brock Bowers and Jackson Powers-Johnson named to PFF's All-Rookie team
Bowers: "Bowers set records for a rookie tight end as he put together a tremendous debut season. His overall grade was third among all tight ends, behind only Trey McBride and George Kittle. Not bad company at all."
JPJ: "At left guard, Powers-Johnson almost gets the nod by default because no other rookie was featured for more than 350 snaps at left guard. He did well enough for a rookie, earning a solid 66.4 grade."
I love that both of those guys basically won because "there aren't other good rookies at their position." You take the wins where you can get them. Bowers is about to show up on a ton of, uh, more legitimate NFL awards lists, but like when you're cherry-picking stats to make your argument sound good, it never hurts to start with PFF.
So while some teams are wasting their time preparing to lose a playoff game, the Raiders are basking in the glow of Pro Football Focus awards. Who's to say what's better?