The Khalil Mack trade may have left a bad taste in the mouths of fans but it appears there are those that felt it was a solid deal.
Head coach Jon Gruden kicked off his return to coaching by trading the Oakland Raiders’ franchise player last offseason in exchange for two first round picks, one second round pick, and one third round pick. As expected, Oakland got quite the return for a player of Mack’s caliber.
It is safe to say that the deal came with its fair share of mixed reviews. Regardless, it seems to have been somewhat vindicated almost a year later.
The Raiders recently were awarded best transaction by the Sloan Sports Conference for trading Mack:
Best Transaction: Oakland Raiders for the Khalil Mack trade, receiving two 1st round picks, one 2nd round pick, and one third round pick
There is no question that the Raiders got plenty in return for trading Mack and the deal made plenty of sense for a team that is rebuilding on paper.
Despite their massive return, this may be one of the few cases where it came back to haunt them later in the season. The fact that they parted ways with arguably the best edge rusher in the NFL is just one of them.
The Raiders finished dead last in the league with 13 sacks the entire season. Meanwhile, Mack nearly matched their total by himself with 12.5 in 14 games.
His stellar play helped fuel the Chicago Bears’ success as they went on to win the NFC North en route to securing the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs. As a result, Oakland’s pick first round pick from Chicago came a bit later than they had hoped.
The front office still has an opportunity to make the Mack trade worthwhile for the Raiders. Only time will tell whether or not they will be able to.
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