1 Raiders' Mistake from Last Offseason Has Been Reconfirmed

The Las Vegas Raiders have made their fair share of mistakes. Some have been bigger mistakes than others. Last offseason was filled with mistakes that compounded mistakes made by previous regimes. They hope this offseason can help correct some of those mistakes.

Raiders' Major Mistake

The Raiders hired Chip Kelly as their offensive coordinator last offseason, paying him more money than any other offensive coordinator in the league. For reasons inside and outside of his control, Kelly helped produce arguably the league's worst offense. Injuries played a part as well but Kelly was bad.

Las Vegas fired Kelly during the season.

Still, league insider Dan Graziano noted that the Raiders may have a more valuable asset than many initially thought. Graziano also confirmed what the recently released NFL Players' Association report cards revealed. The report cards confirmed what was apparent on gameday.

Raiders players anonymously gave former Raiders offensive coordinator a failing grade. Kelly was the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league. He was the only offensive coordinator in the league to receive a failing grade from his players. It was undoubtedly an indictment on Kelly and the Raiders.

Graziano confirmed that coaches around the league all but agreed with the Raiders players. More specifically, Graziano noted that Las Vegas' offensive system itself held Smith back. This is noteworthy, as it is a separate issue from the Raiders' offensive line, which also impacted Smith.

"Multiple coaches from teams looking to add a QB told me that they were eager to see whether the Raiders would release Smith because they thought his tape from last season suggested he was held back by the Raiders' offensive system," Graziano said.

Although Las Vegas is widely expected to draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick, Raiders general manager John Spytek noted that he is open to not only building a team around Mendoza but also bringing him along slowly. Technically, the Raiders are set up to do so with Smith.

Smith is already a highly paid veteran quarterback who would likely play better than he did this season if the Raiders had a better supporting cast around him. They are set to add that supporting cast this offseason, making Smith more valuable than some may believe.

"I think you want to limit the amount of pressure you have on that guy from the start. Now, if you have a young quarterback, I'm not necessarily in favor of running him out there right away either, so another quality player that can play the quarterback position if you have a young quarterback,” Spytek said at the NFL Combine.

“And obviously, a great offensive line, a run game, all the things that can limit his chances to really get killed. And a great defense too, because if he doesn't feel like he's got to go out there and score 35 points every week, I think that's helpful."

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