Grüße und Vorstellung » The great feeling from the Raiders Antonio Brown

trade didn’t carry over to their trade of Kelechi Osemele to the Jets"Saturday Raider Nation was riding high. The Raiders nabbed arguably the best receiver in the NFL for the low Kelechi Osemele Jersey , low price of a third round pick (66 overall) and fifth round pick (140). That’s what they sent the Pittsburgh Steelers for Antonio Brown. And they didn’t really have to break the bank in a contract.There were a lot of fans who were withholding judgment on any deal to acquire the former All Pro because of the worries the team would send the Steelers one of their four picks in the top 35 as well as pay him the kind of money that made them wonder why they didn’t pay Khalil Mack instead of trading him away prior to last season.Upon learning the trade and contract details, the verdict was in and the fans were all about it, with 68% of fans giving the trade an A and 92% giving the AB trade an A or B.Then today was met with news that wasn’t nearly as good. The Raiders had traded former All Pro left guard Kelechi Osemele along with the 6th round pick they got from the Bears as part of the Mack trade to the Jets for their 5th round pick (140 overall). This deal was not met with the level of enthusiasm as the Brown trade. In this poll, the opinion of Raider Nation is split. Nearly half the fans (49%) in the poll have the trade at a C, D, or F. While only 17% give it an A. The unpopularity of the trade is understandable. Osemele was an All Pro just two seasons ago as part of arguably the best interior trio in football. He was a mauler as a power blocker, but the Raiders decided zone blocking was the way to go. Not only that, but they had two different zone blocking schemes the past two seasons, first under new offensive coordinator, Todd Downing, and then under new offensive line coach Tom Cable.He struggled early in 2017 along with the rest of the Raiders line, but looked much better over the second half of the season. Along with the change from a lateral zone to a downhill zone under Tom Cable last season, Osemele suffered a serious knee injury in week four that had him miss five games and clearly bothered him in the games he did play in.He has been among the highest paid guards in the NFL the past three seasons in Oakland. With his $10.2 million cap hit this season and no dead money should he be cut or traded, made him a target as a cut. The Raiders were able to find a trade partner in the Jets to move up 56 picks from the middle of the sixth round to the top of the 5th round (140) — one pick higher than their original 5th round pick (141) they sent to Pittsburgh for Brown.The real problem here is the Raiders open up a need on the team they didn’t have before. They already had glaring needs at several other positions including defensive end, linebacker, offensive tackle, wide receiver (yes, even with the addition of Brown), running back, safety, slot corner, and possibly tight end as well should Jared Cook leave as a free agent. Realistically, you can expect to immediately fill four positions in the draft with picks at 4, 24, 27, and 35. Guard becomes the ninth need position when it didn’t have to be. The Raiders still had among the most cap space in the league, even after the Brown contract.Other moves the Raiders have made thus far have been positive, including the report today they re-signed DT Johnathan Hankins to a 2-year deal. The Osemele trade puts a blemish on that otherwise spotless offseason.Follow @LeviDamien This time last year, the discussion revolving around Kolton Miller was that he was a smart guy who was raw and needed to add some weight to his 6-9 frame. The 15th overall pick showed up to Oakland..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Kolton Miller bulked up big time in the offseason giving Raiders some massive bookend tacklesNew,136commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareKolton Miller bulked up big time in the offseason giving Raiders some massive bookend tacklesKyle Terada-USA TODAY SportsThis time last year, the discussion revolving around Kolton Miller was that he was a smart guy who was raw and needed to add some weight to his 6-9 frame. The 15th overall pick showed up to Oakland at 309, which is a lot for most players, but for a tackle of his stature, it’s a bit light. Tuesday Miller stepped on the field for the start of Raiders OTA’s a noticeably larger man. According to him, he is now up to 328 pounds. Seeing him stand behind the podium Bruce Irvin Jersey , you wouldn’t say that was bad weight either. Anyone can gain weight, but it’s important to gain muscle weight and keep your speed and agility. And some home cooking helps too.“I was back home in Sacramento and I was working out every day and my parents were struggling to try to pile on the food every night,” said Miller. “But, yeah, this offseason’s way different. You know last year you have to worry about the combine and you’re doing all these drills that are not football related. So, yeah, I just worked out each week and had a conditioning day and ate right and the weight just came on.”Miller had a rough rookie season, giving up 16 sacks. Then the team made signing a tackle their first priority, adding former Patriots left tackle Trent Brown to a record deal. He even took Miller’s number 77 (Miller switched to 74). This led many to assume Miller would be shifting to right tackle. But that wasn’t what Jon Gruden had planned for Miller or Brown.The likewise 6-8 tackle is among the largest in the NFL weighing in at a hefty 380 pounds. He moves back to right tackle where he lined up with the 49ers for his first three NFL seasons and Gruden stood by his first Raiders draft pick in keeping Miller at left tackle.“We think Kolton Miller’s gonna be one of the best at left tackle in football,” Gruden said, giving his second year left tackle a vote of confidence. “He’s not only healthy, he’s in great shape. He’s gotten a lot stronger, he’s added some weight, some muscle, and he’s still a real flexible athlete that can run and change directions and being in the second year in the system I expect a lot of good things.”Miller has noticed the difference being in the second year in Tom Cable’s downhill zone blocking scheme. But more than his familiarity in the scheme, it’s being healthy that he thinks will help him improve upon his rookie campaign.A promising start was derailed by a knee injury in week four that nagged him throughout the rest of his rookie season. The Raiders had no real options to replace Miller should he go down. The top options would have been former left tackle Donald Penn or guard Kelechi Osemele but both of them got hurt in the same game as Miller. So, Miller had to tough it out and in the process, he earned a lot of respect from his quarterback, despite how many sacks he surrendered along the way.“He’s worked his tail off. And I knew that about him all season,” Derek Carr said of Miller. “When he was playing early in the season, he was locking some people up. And then when he got hurt, he never missed a practice. Never missed a rep in practice. If coach said he’s got to get out he’d say ‘No, coach, I’m good.’ I knew right then and there that this guy’s gonna do whatever it takes to come back next year and be better. . .And to see him come in how big and strong he is in the weight room and how much it meant to him, it was really cool to see because it confirmed everything I believed about him.”The funny thing is, even at 328 pounds, there’s still room for Miller to fill out even more. There are still five other offensive linemen on this team who are heavier than him, perhaps six, depending on where fellow 2018 draft pick Brandon Parker is with his weight. “They’re definitely bigger and stronger,” Derek Carr said of his offensive line. “A guy we haven’t even talked about, Brandon Parker. Man, he came in... I think he was living with Gabe [Jackson] so he was getting that country strength. Gabe eats a lot so I know Brandon was eating good. . . We definitely got bigger upfront.”Also standing at 6-8,seeing Parker in person Tuesday leaves no doubt of his weight gain from the 305 pounds he showed up with last year. Add 6-6, 343-pound David Sharpe and you’ve got some of the biggest tackles in the league. Follow @LeviDamien