Brief Review of 2014 Season

2014 was not too kind to the silver and black.  They started the season off 0-11 and suffered many tough losses along the way.  Head coach Dennis Allen was fired after a Week 4 beatdown in London where the Raiders lost 38-14, and Tony Sparano then took over.  While he was able to get the Raiders to show some fight on the field, they still finished the season 3-13 and last in the AFC West.

A silver lining for the Raiders in 2014 was rookie quarterback Derek Carr.  Carr shined through a mediocre offense featuring a poor receiving core and a nonexistent run game.  The quarterback is indeed the future of this franchise and improved with every snap after earning the starting gig out of preseason.  Khalil Mack is also another positive for the Raiders moving forward as he looks to be a force on defense and provide a strong pass rush.

2015 Free Agents (Unrestricted)

Larry Asante, Safety

Asante played in six games for the Raiders, while only starting two.  In those games, he had 24 combined tackles with four assists.

David Ausberry, Tight End

Ausberry’s season was cut short due to being placed on the injured reserve.  There have been high hopes for the tight end, but injury has hindered his progress.  He had two receptions for 14 yards last season.  

Tarell Brown, Cornerback

In 14 games, Brown had 55 combined tackles with eight assists.

Vincent Brown, Wide Receiver

Brown was brought in midseason to aid with a inefficient receiving core.  He played in seven games for Oakland and had 12 receptions for 118 yards.

Darren McFadden, Running back

McFadden has been bit by the injury bug ever since being drafted back in 2008.  He signed a one year contract last season in an effort to get back on track and live up to his draft selection.  While he didn’t miss time due to injury, he was unable to break through and establish anything with the ground game.  The running back had 155 carries for 534 yards and two touchdowns.

Denarius Moore, Wide Receiver

Moore wasn’t an impactful player for the Raiders last season with only 12 receptions after being targeted 27 times,  and 115 yards.

Carlos Rogers, Cornerback

Rogers was an offseason acquisition for the Raiders, and was expected to help improve a questionable Oakland secondary, however he only played in seven games due to injury.  In his shortened season, Rogers had 35 combined tackles, nine assists, and one forced fumble.

Pat Sims, Defensive tackle

Sims played the full season with the Raiders and had 25 combined tackles with eight assists, but had zero sacks.

C.J. Wilson, Defensive tackle

Wilson was a good acquisition for the Raiders last offseason as he had 23 combined tackles with seven assists and two sacks.  

Stefen Wisniewski, Center

Wisniewski is of important value to Carr.  He’s been with the Raiders for four years, and they want to re-sign him, however the two sides have had trouble reaching an agreement thus far.

2015 Cap Room: $51,946,579

Five-Biggest Need Areas

Wide Receiver

The Raiders receiving core has been mediocre at best, and is in need of a lot of improvement.  Rod Streater has been a vital part of the offense, and when his season was cut short due to injury, an already depleted offense showed struggle to move the chains.  As the offseason gets set to hit full swing, the Raiders coaching staff and front office have to bring in playmaker wide receivers to aid their quarterback and move downfield.

Running back

Latavius Murray provided some spark, but it still wasn’t enough to establish an efficient run game throughout the season.  Maurice Jones-Drew missed a lot of the 2014 season due to injury, but when he was in the game, he was ineffective to say the least.  Even with Murray likely getting the majority of the carries next season, there is a need for depth at running back.

Tight End

While Mychal Rivera is young, he has had many ups and downs these past two seasons with the Raiders.  He’s unreliable when it comes to coming down with the football; he was targeted 101 times and had only 58 receptions.  Nick Kasa and David Ausberry are also possibilities at this position, but neither have shown much on the field and Ausberry is a free agent.

Offensive Line

There were times where the O-line did a great job at protecting their quarterback, then there were times when Carr was in trouble right after the snap.  There has been improvement already within the offensive line, but there are still better pieces that can be brought in.

Pass Rush

The Raiders pass rush showed an improvement compared to years past, but still has work to be done.  Veteran players were brought in to help the defense put pressure on the quarterback, but the vet’s didn’t live up to the expectation.  With Khalil Mack and Sio Moore being young up and coming studs, they need to build around them and create a force to be reckoned with.

Potential Offseason Breakout Star

Latavius Murray, Running back

When Murray was finally given the go ahead to get more carries in a game, he ran with the opportunity, literally.  He was able to burst through for big plays and put the silver and black ahead in games.  He was said to have a lot of potential, and he proved that with the time he was given last season.

He outperformed both McFadden and Jones-Drew proving his worth, and looking ahead to 2015, with more time with the starting offense in training camp and in preseason games, Murray could be poised for a pretty impressive 2015 season.

2015 Draft Selections

Round 1: 4th overall pick

Round 2: 35th overall pick

Round 3: 68th overall pick

Round 4: 99th overall pick

There’s not much the Raiders don’t need this offseason.  They’ve begun an overhaul with the coaching staff and have a few key pieces already set in motion.  With the second most cap space this offseason, Jack Del Rio and company will look to spend it wisely and bring in some top free agents to turn this thing around and instill a commitment to excellence.