30-year old left footed Sebastian Janikowski has great leg strength as he can nail a 60-yarder on occasion but the Raiders need him to be more accurate as he sometimes is off target leaving points on the field.  Janikowski played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 23 of 32 (71.9%) field goals.  He also converted all 28 of his extra point attempts last season.  Janikowski has had issues his whole career with accuracy.  He has played in 125 games in his NFL career and he has made 179 of 233 field goal attempts (76.8%).  He has also made 271 of 273 extra points (99.3%) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

The Raiders would be smart to look at the TE more in the passing game in 2008 with JaMarcus Russell learning on the fly.  22-year Zach Miller proved to be a very solid receiver as a rookie in 2007 and he’s just scratching the surface of his potential.  Miller played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 44 passes for 444 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Miller will definately have better stats in 2008 for the Raiders.

25-year old John Madsen will be the backup TE this season for the Raiders.  He played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 8 passes for 102 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Madsen might get a few token receptions in 2008 but don’t expect too much from him.  Madsen has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has caught 19 passes for 248 yards (13.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs. 

28-year old Tony Stewart will be the #3 TE for the Raiders this season.  He didn’t play last season due to injury.  He is more of a run blocking TE as he is a big guy at 6′5″, 260 pounds.  Stewart has now played in 68 games in his NFL career and he has caught 55 passes for 464 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B-

The Raiders needed a facelift at WR and they have done that bringing in Javon Walker and Drew Carter as free agents.  Javon Walker almost retired after his assault in Las Vegas but Al Davis and company talked him into playing this season.  If healthy and focused, Walker will be the #1 WR on the Raiders.  Walker played in 8 games for the Broncos last season and he caught 26 passes for 287 yards (11.0 avg) without a TD grab.  He also carried the ball 2 times for -3 yards (-1.5 ypc) last season.  The thought here is that Walker will be a good fit for the Raiders as JaMarcus Russell has the arm to hit Walker if he gets behind the defense and he should be able to if healthy.  Walker has now played in 72 games in his NFL career and he has caught 252 passes for 3,815 yards (15.1 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  Walker has also carried the ball 14 times for 132 yards (9.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.

29-year old Ronald Curry had a breakout season for the Raiders last year and he is a very solid #2 WR.  He played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 55 passes for 717 yards (13.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Curry to top those numbers in 2008 for the Raiders as he has the speed to get deep.  Curry has now played in 62 games in his NFL career and he has caught 174 passes for 2,166 yards (12.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 4 times for 2 yards (0.5 ypc) in his NFL career.

26-year old Drew Carter is a speedster who was a tad underrated for the Panthers.  He will be the #3 WR for the Raiders this season and he should get a lot of action.  Carter played in 16 games for the Panthers last season and he caught 38 passes for 517 yards (13.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Carter to at least match his numbers from 2007 with the Panthers in 2008 with the Raiders.  Carter has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has caught 71 passes for 977 yards (13.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 18 yards (9.0 ypc) in his career.

Johnnie Lee Higgins has great deep speed but he will need to start to show it on Gameday if he’s going to be anything more than a special teams player in the NFL.  Higgins played in all 16 games as a rookie with the Raiders last season and he caught 6 passes for 47 yards (7.8 avg).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 3 yards (1.5 ypc) last season.

Rookie Arman Shields could move up the depth chart with a good training camp.  He caught 160 passes for 1,930 yards (12.1 avg) with 13 TD grabs in his career at Richmond. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

The Raiders have decent fullbacks that add a little spice to the offense.  Veteran Justin Griffith will likely be the starter at fullback despite blocking not being the best part of his game.  That’s because he is  6′0″, 230 pounds, but, he’s a good runner and receiver which gives the Raiders options when he’s in the game.  Griffith played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 7 times for 27 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also caught 26 passes for 165 yards (6.3 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Look for Griffith to possibly be even more involved in the offense especially in the passing game in 2008.  Griffith has now played in 79 games (59 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 88 times for 405 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 113 passes for 786 yards (7.0 avg) with 10 TD grabs in his career.

Oren O’Neal is the classic punch you in the face running back.  He is 5′11″, 245 pounds and he’s a load blocking in the running game.  O’Neal played in 14 games (1 start) for the Raiders last season and he caught 1 pass for 1 yard.  Look for the Raiders to toss him a bone once in a while by giving him the football a few times for good blocking.

6′2″, 255 pound Tony Jackson is the #3 fullback on the depth chart heading into the 2008 season.  He will have a hard time moving up the depth chart without injuries happening to a player above him.  Jackson has no experiece to this point in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Raiders will likely transform their offense this season into a run first team and that suits the stable of running backs that they have assembled for 2008.  Justin Fargas was the main man last season and he will get a lot of action in 2008.  He’s strong and fast as he can break the big one if he finds a crease in the defense.  Fargas played in 14 games (7 starts) with the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 222 times for 1,009 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 188 yards (8.2 avg).  Fargas will have to stay healthy which has been an issue in his career to this point to hold off Darren MaFadden for the feature role in the running game.  Fargas has now played in 66 games (14 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 480 times for 2,025 yards (4.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also has caught 50 passes for 358 yards (7.2 avg).

Darren McFadden is the golden boy of this year’s draft as he has a lot of the same skills that Adrian Peterson brought to the Vikings last season.  In his three years at Arkansas, McFadden averaged 1,530 yards rushing, 5.8 yards per carry and 13.7 rushing TDs per season.  He has the speed to go the distance on any carry and he has the power to run between the tackles.  Look for him to eventually snap the starting job away from Fargas but they should be able to share the job this season.

Michael Bush missed all of his rookie season while rehabbing from a serious injury in college (broken leg).  The Raiders will likely use Bush in short yardage situations this season if he’s healthy because he has more power than either McFadden or Fargas.  He is the secret weapon of the Raiders’ offense if healthy because he’s a very talented football player.

Adimchinobe Echemandu will likely be the #4 RB on the Raiders if they let LaMont Jordan go as most people think they will.  Echemandu played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 20 times for 85 yards (4.3 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg).  Echemandu hopes that he gets enough of a chance to prove that he belongs in the NFL this season.  Echemandu has now played in 19 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 28 times for 110 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also caught 5 passes for 36 yards (7.2 avg).

LaMont Jordan failed in his attempt to become a feature back for the Raiders after being a great backup for the Jets.  His time for the Raiders is almost over it appears with McFadden and Fargas likely to get the bulk of the carries.  Jordan played in 12 games (7 starts) for the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 144 times for 549 yards (3.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 28 passes for 247 yards (8.8 avg) last season.  Look for Jordan to get snapped up by some team if the Raiders release him as he still has something left, just not enough to beat out the backs in front of him in Oakland.  Jordan has now played in 97 games (29 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 792 times for 3,285 yards (4.1 ypc) with 24 TD runs.  He also has caught 158 passes for 1,301 yards (8.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B+