Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden caught plenty of flak when the team opted to trade away the best edge rusher in the NFL in Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears.
Although they endured their fair share of struggles early on after the trade, the Raiders are finally reaping the benefits of their blockbuster trading by cashing in on a number of promising rookies in the 2019 NFL Draft. There is no question that running back Josh Jacobs has been the biggest reason why the Mack trade stings a bit less in hindsight.
General manager Mike Mayock claims to have been sold on Jacobs as one of their first-round draft picks since he finished his career at Alabama. Regardless, Gruden is not going to allow Mayock to take full credit for bringing him in.
While Mayock has not been shy about his love for Jacobs from the beginning, Gruden jokingly made sure to note that it was his decision to trade Mack that even made it possible, via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports:
“He’s doing all the interviews taking credit for Jacobs,” Gruden said Wednesday with a smile. “He can have all the credit, but Jacobs wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have the picks. So, I don’t care who drafted him. We all were united in picking Jacobs, but he deserves all the credit certainly. We like to rib each other on a lot of things. But it doesn’t matter. [Jacobs} is here, he’s ours, he’s a great prospect and he’s off to a great start. I’m really happy for him, he’s a great kid that has given us every ounce of energy he has.”
Gruden added that their haul would be much more significant if safety Johnathan Abram had not suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the opener, but he did give Mayock some credit for their strong rookie class:
“If [safety Johnathan Abram] had been healthy we kind of saw him as an impact player,” Gruden said. “It was a great collaboration [with Mayock]. We all look at the film. Coaches, scouts and we try to get a consensus on who we want to pick. But we needed a feature back. We didn’t have one. We got one in the first round and we’re going to try to add some pieces next year with all the picks we’ve assembled. That’s one way to get better. You have to give Mike credit. He’s done a nice job.”
There is certainly plenty of truth to Gruden’s comments considering how well Abram had played in the 24-16 Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos despite suffering the injury. Fortunately, this just provides Gruden with more ammo for when he comes back and is able to resume his role as an integral piece of the defense.
The Raiders can at least take solace in the fact that Jacobs is currently the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL with 923 yards through 10 games while defensive end Clelin Ferrell has started to look the part of a first-rounder in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the Bears have struggled to build off the success they enjoyed during the 2018 campaign and the assets they gave up in the Mack trade leaves them with few resources to work with for a potential resurgence moving forward.
