The Oakland Raiders were one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL last season, especially on defense, so this offseason general manager Reggie McKenzie made it a priority to improve things and as minicamp begins the defensive side of the ball appears to be much better with new players Charles Woodson, Nick Roach, Tracy Porter, Kevin Burnett and Mike Jenkins in the fold.
Woodson is in his second stint with the team after playing seven years with the Green Bay Packers and he is ready to be a leader on the young team as they try to improve in 2013. The passing defense was one of the weakest parts of the team last season and the new additions, as well as first round pick DJ Hayden are expected to drastically improve things. Hayden is out for camp after surgery, giving Jenkins and Porter the chance to run with the first team.
Both Porter and Jenkins bring experience to the team and they should be able to help Hayden along quickly, as cornerback is one of the harder positions in the league to come in and start well at as a rookie. Head coach Dennis Allen has a past working with secondary's and with Porter in particular from his time in New Orleans and that should give the team an even bigger boost as time goes on. The secondary will be a prime place for improvement and the team also needs to work on the line, as Tommy Kelly, Richard Seymour and Desmond Bryant are all gone now.
The Raiders had an awful game against the run last season, giving up 251 yards to rookie Doug Martin of the Bucs and that is one area that Allen and McKenzie feel can improve heading into this season. The team finished 18th against the run in yards per game and that was the best since finishing three in 2002, but Allen feels the team can get better despite losing players, as they added Pat Sims and Vance Walker to step up.
The offense will have its fair share of issues to start, but Matt Flynn should be fine as the starter and with new additions in rookies Nick Kasa, Latavius Murray and Brice Butler, the team should score much more and if Darren McFadden can stay healthy, the running game will be much more productive. The offense needs more balance after last season and the defense also could get a boost from other rookies, including Sio Moore, who will play with Burnett and Roach in certain sets.
