The Raiders have signed 30-year old RB/KR Rock Cartwright.  Cartwright played in 16 games for the Redskins last season and he carried the ball 64 times for 228 yards (3.6 ypc).  He also caught 27 passes for 242 yards (9.0 avg) with 1 TD grab and he returned 39kickoffs for 868 yards (22.3 avg) last season.  Cartwright has now played in 123 games in his NFL career in which he has carried the ball 215 times for 889 yards (4.1 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he has also caught 59 passes for 555 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Cartwright has also returned 222 kickoffs for 5,332 yards (24.0 avg) with 1 TD return and he also has 67 tackles.  The Raiders likely signed him because of his special teams play as they have quite a few running backs already on the roster.

The Raiders have acquired 28-year old QB Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins for a 4th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Campbell is a big guy at 6’5″, 230 pounds and he has all of the tools to be a solid QB.  He has a good arm, he’s mobile and he protects the football which will all be new to the Raiders’ receivers in 2010.  Campbell played in all 16 games for the Redskins last season and he completed 327 of 507 passes (64.5%) for 3,618 yards with 20 TD passes and 15 INTs (86.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 46 times for 236 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  In his time with the Redskins, Campbell played in 52 games in which he completed 1,002 of 1,637 passes (61.2%) for 10,860 yards with 55 TD passes and 38 INTs (82.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 153 times for 786 yards (5.1 ypc) with 3 TD carries in his career.  Campbell is a HUGE upgrade for the Raiders and they didn’t have to pay much to get him. 

The Raiders have traded 28-year old inside linebacker Kirk Morrison to the Jaguars for a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft.  Morrison played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he finished up with 133 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and he defensed 1 pass.  In his 5 years with the Raiders he played in 80 games in which he has made 632 tackles, defensed 19 passes, he has 5 sacks and 7 interceptions.  With the addition of Rolando McClain in the first round of the NFL Draft, Morrison became expendable.  This is a good trade for both the Raiders and Morrison as he will get to start for the Jaguars and the Raiders got a decent pick for him.

The Oakland Raiders have selected OT Jared Veldheer with the 69th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Veldheer certainly looks the part at 6’7″, 321 pounds and he is a weight room warrior.  But he is just not a mean guy and that will need to change especially seeing how his home games will be in the Black Hole.  Veldheer played in 13 games (all starts) at tiny Hillsdale (Michigan) and he played in 46 games (all starts) in his four years there.  If Veldheer gets some fire in his belly he could develop into a starting offensive tackle in the NFL but it’s going to take some time and a lot of good coaching.

The Oakland Raiders have selected DT Lamarr Houston out of Texas with the 44th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Houston is 6’0″, 302 pounds and he stays low winning a lot of battles.  He is a very athletic DT who makes a lot of plays between the tackles as he has a lot of moves and he plays with a non stop motor.  Houston played in 14 games (all starts) for Texas last season and he finished up with 68 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks, 4 batted down passes and he recovered 2 fumbles.  He played in 50 games (33 starts) in his four years with the Longhorns and he made 129 tackles, 40.5 tackles for a loss, he had 15 sacks, batted down 11 passes, he forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Adding Houston to Rolando McClain really toughens up the interior of the Raiders’ D going forward.  I really like this pick for them.

The Oakland Raiders have selected linebacker Rolando McClain out of Alabama with the 8th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  McClain is easily the top inside linebacker in this draft and the Raiders had trouble stopping the run last season so this pick makes a lot of sense for them.  He is excellent between the tackles at stopping the run which is just what the doctor ordered for Oakland.  McClain played in 14 games (all starts) for Alabama last season and he finished up with 105 tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss, he had 4 sacks, broke up 4 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  McClain is battle tested too playing in the SEC against top competition.  McClain is a leader who makes all the calls on defense and the Raiders have missed having a guy like that as of late.  McClain played in 41 games (37 starts) in his three years at Alabama and he finished up with 274 tackles, 31.5 tackles for a loss, he had 8 sacks, broke up 14 passes and he had 5 interceptions.  Despite the skeptics I like this pick for the Raiders.

The Raiders have a lot of work to do this weekend and they can’t miss in the early rounds like they did last year.  The Raiders have 3 of the top 69 picks in the NFL Draft and they have 8 overall picks.  The team needs are at QB, MLB, OT, DE and maybe CB.  With those needs in mind the Raiders will likely target the following players:  QB Jimmy Clausen, OT Bryan Bulaga, OT Anthony Davis and OT Trent Williams.  I have a feeling that the Raiders will pass on QB in the first round.

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  OT, Bryan Bulaga, Iowa

The Raiders have acquired 25-year old DE Quentin Groves from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 5th round pick in this weekend’s NFL Draft.  Groves played in all 16 games for the Jags last season and he had 30 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, he forced 1 fumble, defensed 1 pass and he had 1 interception.  He has now played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has 43 tackles, 2.5 sacks, he has defensed 2 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he has 1 interception.  Groves was worth the Raiders taking a chance on for a fifth round pick as he might have just needed a change of scenery to excel.

The Oakland Raiders have been kind of quiet so far this off-season.  They did make a really good trade for OLB/DE Kamerion Wimbley who will start for them from day #1 likely at DE.  Giving up a third round pick for a player who has the potential to get 10 sacks is a move you have to make any day.  The only two free agents the Raiders have signed are WR/KR Yamon Figurs and QB Kyle Boller.  Figurs could really help out on special teams as he can give the team a jolt as a return man.  Boller just joins the Raiders’ cast of sub par QBs.  I look for the Raiders to be really active both this weekend and next week in free agency.

The Raiders have signed 28-year old QB Kyle Boller.  Boller played in 7 games for the Rams last season in which he completed 98 of 176 passes (55.7%) for 899 yards with 3 TD passes and 6 INTs (61.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 76 yards (5.8 ypc) last year.  Boller has now played in 60 games in his NFL career and he has completed 844 of 1,487 passes (56.8%) for 8,745 yards with 48 TD passes and 50 INTs (70.6 QB Rating).  Boller has also carried the ball 160 times for 516 yards (3.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his NFL career.  Boller is the kind of strong armed QB that owner Al Davis loves as he can match almost any QB in arm strength.  But that arm of his has never helped him keep a starting job in the NFL.