26-year old Johnnie Lee Higgins will battle 27-year old Yamon Figurs and rookie 4th round pick Jacoby Ford for the starting job as the kickoff return man in 2010.  Higgins did not return any kickoffs last season for the Raiders.  He has played in 47 games in his three years with the Raiders and he has returned 36 kickoffs for 842 yards (23.4 avg).  Higgins probably is at the top of the depth chart heading into the pre-season.

Yamon Figurs is a pretty solid return man in his own right.  He played in 6 games for the Bucs & Lions last season and he returned 5 kickoffs for 105 yards (21.0 avg).  Figurs has now played in 32 games in his 3 years in the NFL and he has returned 80 kickoffs for 1,851 yards (23.1 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has a really good chance of winning this job.

Rookie 4th round pick Jacoby Ford out of Clemson is a Al Davis favorite.  The 5′9″, 185 pound Ford ran a 4.2 40 at the scouting combine in Indy.  He has the most speed of these three guys but he will need to prove himself this pre-season if he wants to get a shot returning kickoffs when the bullets fly for real in September.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  C

LT Mario Henderson is a big guy at 6′7″, 300 pounds but he sometimes loses out to power rushers who at times push him backwards.  He is a solid athlete though and he can compete with speed rushers.  LG Robert Gallery is the best O-Lineman the Raiders have.  His strength is  his run blocking as he doesn’t miss many targets.  Center Samson Satele is a tough guy who’s a better run blocker than a pass blocker.  RG Cooper Carlisle is a power blocker who has a non-stop motor.  He’s both a good pass and run blocker.  RT Khalif Barnes is a average tackle at best.  Rookies Jared Veldheer and Bruce Campbell will provide depth at tackle in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS O-LINE in 2010:  C-

46-year old head coach Tom Cable is a tough guy and the Raiders’ front office likes that.  He got into a scuffle with another coach in the locker room last season and he busted him in the chops fracturing his jaw.  Sure the Raiders were only 5-11 last season but that’s because Al Davis wanted Cable to start JaMarcus Russell over Bruce Gradkowski.  With Russell out of the picture this season I see the Raiders winning a few more games in 2010.  Think .500.  Cable has a 9-19 record (32.1%) in parts of two years with the Raiders but I see that winning % going up in 2010.

32-year old lefty footed kicker Sabastian Janikowski has a big time leg.  The Raiders even had him try a 75-yarder last season!  He played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 26 of 29 field goals (89.7%).  Janikowski also made all 17 of his extra points as he finished up with 95 points for the Raiders last year.  Janikowski has now played in 157 games in his NFL career and he has made 229 of 292 (78.4%) field goals.   He is also 313 of 316 on extra points as he now has 1,000 career points.  Janikowski seems to be getting better with age and the Raiders hope that continues in 2010 and beyond.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS KICKERS in 2010:  A

The Raiders corps of WRs have only 134 combined catches in the NFL, but they have speed to burn.  The Raiders hope that 24-year old Chaz Schilens can stay healthy in 2010.  Schilens has played in 8 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 29 passes for 365 yards (12.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Schilens has now played in 24 games (14 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has caught 44 passes for 591 yards (13.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs. 

23-year old Darrius Heyward-Bey was a huge disappointment for the Raiders as a rookie last year.  He played in 11 games (all starts) and he caught 9 passes for 124 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) last season.  Heyward-Bey might be one of the fastest receivers in the NFL but he should put some meat tenderizer on his concrete set of hands.

23-year old speedster Louis Murphy had some solid games as a rookie last season.  He also made a game winning catch at the end of the game in Pittsburgh that pretty much sealed up a huge win for the Raiders.  Murphy played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 34 passes for 521 yards (15.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) last season.  Murphy has the potential to easily move up the depth chart this year for the Raiders.

Rookie Jacoby Ford out of Clemson (4th round) in a absolute speed burner as he ran a 4.2 40 at the Scouting Combine.  But he is on the small side at 5′9″, 185 pounds so it will be interesting to see if he can take the pounding of the NFL.  Still, owner Al Davis loves speed and Ford has more than enough of that.

26-year old Johnnie Lee Higgins is also pretty quick.  He played in 15 games (5 starts) for the Raiders last season and he caught 19 passes for 263 yards (13.8 avg) without any TD grabs.  Higgins also carried the ball 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) last year.  Higgins has now played in 47 games (10 starts) in his three years with the Raiders and he has caught 47 passes for 676 yards (14.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Higgins has also carried the ball 7 times for 58 yards (8.3 ypc) in his career to date.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAIDERS WRs in 2010:  D