Oakland Raiders youngsters need to step up now

Oct 11, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against the Denver Broncos at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After 2011 season, Reggie McKenzie was hired to be the general manager of the Oakland Raiders. His first order of business was to fire head coach Hue Jackson and hire Dennis Allen to take his place. After that, he blew up the 8-8 roster full of overpaid players in order to get the team under the salary cap.

Then in 2012, they had no draft picks until the third round and no cap room to sign free agents. In 2013, McKenzie had a full complement of draft picks and the jury is still out on the ones that remain. Of those 10 picks, only five are on the team and we’ll soon see the results on them.

In 2014 and 2015, it’s already clear that McKenzie got it right in back-to-back drafts. Among those picks are a future franchise quarterback, a rookie star receiver and a dominant OLB to build around. He even got it right in the fee agency this year to fill a lot of gaps around the young core.

But still, they are depending on a lot of young players and young players make mistakes. Those mistakes lead to losses too so expecting the Raiders making the playoffs this year is a lot to expect. The only way it would be possible is if some of the young players stepped up to help the core players.

Turn the page to see who I’m talking about.

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