Jon Gruden approached the season with an intention to win, but after getting off to a poor start, the Oakland Raiders changed directions quickly and decided to rebuild. They’ve traded top talent like Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper and received several first-round picks in return, and they’ll be armed with plenty of salary cap space in the future.
Between all the high draft picks and salary cap space, Gruden said this week that he believes the Raiders are in a good spot for the future.
Jon Gruden On how good of a spot the team is in with three first round draft picks in the 2019 NFL Draft:
“I think we’ve accumulated five first round picks in the next two years. I think, obviously, we’ve got some money to spend on potential free agents, which is also exciting.”
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) November 14, 2018
There is no doubt that the Raiders are loaded with assets heading into the future. The question is whether Gruden is the person who can best take advantage of them.
Between his decision to take Kolton Miller in the first round this year, his trade for Martavis Bryant, and things like his signing of Jordy Nelson, we have our serious doubts about whether he can turn picks and cap space into a winner.
