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Position Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 12:47 am
by 16 to 88
Not long now before the beginning of camp so how about a positions battle thread. These are the ones that came to mind no doubt I missed some...
Quarterback: Cousins, Mendoza, O’Connell.
This has been discussed in another thread but of course it will be the most scrutinized and talked about. Cousins was brought in to be the starter and chatter is they don’t want to throw Mendoza into the fire and have him sit. Will all 3 get first team reps in TC and/or preseason? Who will be #1 come opening day? Who will be #2?
Left Guard: Burford, Rogers.
Even though they signed Burford to a 1 year and he has the experience, Rogers is bigger and much more athletic. Can he hold off Rogers?
Right Guard: JPJ, Zuhn III.
Will JPJ be cemented at RG and no challengers? Or will someone like Zuhn III wrestle it away from him? Maybe Burford sticks at LG and Rogers is moved to RG?
Right Tackle: Glaze, Grant, Zuhn III.
Not sure they view Grant as a RT as I believe he didn’t even take a snap there? Still, doesn’t mean he won’t and I gotta believe they like the idea of Zuhn III wrestling it away from everyone.
Wide Receiver: Tucker, Nailor, Bech, Thornton, Benson.
Probably the only two with guaranteed starting positions are Tucker and Nailor. Unless somebody else shows out, Bech, Thornton and Benson will all be trying to nail down a lot of playing time. Benson has already been returning punts I believe it is so it looks as though he will be difficult to keep off the field.
Running Back #2: Washington, Hemby, Laube.
Probably the three main players in all this unless somebody else sticks their nose in it.
Nose Tackle: Butler, Jones, Pegues, Tasi, Cleveland.
Do they want Butler at nose? Or DT in 4-3 alignments? In the 3-4 downs will it be Jones and his massive frame? Same goes for Pegues, Tasi. What about Cleveland?
Defensive End: Koonce, Crawford.
Crosby and Paye will eat up the majority of snaps but can Koonce reestablish himself? They spent a 3rd on Crawford where does he fit in?
Cornerback: Porter, McCoy.
Who will start opposite of Stokes?
Safety: Pola-Mao, Stukes.
Will the rookie overcome the veteran?
Kicker: Gay or Tokyo Toe?
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 5:47 am
by Rabidraider
Hoping McCoy.health turns out well and he becomes the steal of the draft.
Gay or Tokyo Toe, no clue but you do need a kicker who can kick inside the 55 yards mark with some consistency.
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 7:10 am
by MrSiani
Hoping for another Jim Plunkett Story 2.0 where Kirk shows the world what he can do, similar to Jim
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 7:24 am
by raidersince63
MrSiani wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 7:10 am
Hoping for another Jim Plunkett Story 2.0 where Kirk shows the world what he can do, similar to Jim
That would be nice but I don't see it happening. Plunkett was 32, Kirk will be 38 next month.
Plunkett came to an already solid Raider team...Kirk is coming to a 3-14 Raider team that is rebuilding.
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:40 am
by SuperRaider
raidersince63 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 7:24 am
That would be nice but I don't see it happening. Plunkett was 32, Kirk will be 38 next month.
Plunkett came to an already solid Raider team...Kirk is coming to a 3-14 Raider team that is rebuilding.
After Kirk has been sacked for 30 times in the first three games; he will retire
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:08 am
by raidersince63
SuperRaider wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:40 am
After Kirk has been sacked for 30 times in the first three games; he will retire
If that happens, we're already in deep trouble.
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 11:49 am
by Attyla
The left guard battle is kind of depressing
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 3:11 pm
by rich72
DT is supposed to be our weakest position.
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 6:18 pm
by raider_kin
Left Tackle: Grant takes over (doesn't go near right tackle)
Left Guard: Rogers (Burford becomes a dependable backup)
Right Guard: JPJ has a miracle year and stays on the field.
Right Tackle: Pray for rain*
*old baseball joke
PS Zuhn's arms are too short for us to write him in at starting right tackle, but will be dependable backup. With Meredith as backup as well we are approaching having depth on the line. (I said 'approaching', right tackle is just gonna be a problem for us for a while)
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:42 pm
by 16 to 88
Attyla wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 11:49 am
The left guard battle is kind of depressing
Keep in mind that some of the best guards in the NFL were drafted later on. Thuney, Lewis, J. Jackson, Meinerz, Seumalo were all 3rd rounders. Smith (kc), Onwenu were 6th rounders. Rogers was a 3rd and is a big very athletic guy that should fit right in the ZBS. And, Pete's kid is out and now he will have Dennison teaching him...
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2026 11:30 pm
by Curay7680
16 to 88 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 12:47 am
Not long now before the beginning of camp so how about a positions battle thread. These are the ones that came to mind no doubt I missed some...
Quarterback: Cousins, Mendoza, O’Connell.
This has been discussed in another thread but of course it will be the most scrutinized and talked about. Cousins was brought in to be the starter and chatter is they don’t want to throw Mendoza into the fire and have him sit. Will all 3 get first team reps in TC and/or preseason? Who will be #1 come opening day? Who will be #2?
Left Guard: Burford, Rogers.
Even though they signed Burford to a 1 year and he has the experience, Rogers is bigger and much more athletic. Can he hold off Rogers?
Right Guard: JPJ, Zuhn III.
Will JPJ be cemented at RG and no challengers? Or will someone like Zuhn III wrestle it away from him? Maybe Burford sticks at LG and Rogers is moved to RG?
Right Tackle: Glaze, Grant, Zuhn III.
Not sure they view Grant as a RT as I believe he didn’t even take a snap there? Still, doesn’t mean he won’t and I gotta believe they like the idea of Zuhn III wrestling it away from everyone.
Wide Receiver: Tucker, Nailor, Bech, Thornton, Benson.
Probably the only two with guaranteed starting positions are Tucker and Nailor. Unless somebody else shows out, Bech, Thornton and Benson will all be trying to nail down a lot of playing time. Benson has already been returning punts I believe it is so it looks as though he will be difficult to keep off the field.
Running Back #2: Washington, Hemby, Laube.
Probably the three main players in all this unless somebody else sticks their nose in it.
Nose Tackle: Butler, Jones, Pegues, Tasi, Cleveland.
Do they want Butler at nose? Or DT in 4-3 alignments? In the 3-4 downs will it be Jones and his massive frame? Same goes for Pegues, Tasi. What about Cleveland?
Defensive End: Koonce, Crawford.
Crosby and Paye will eat up the majority of snaps but can Koonce reestablish himself? They spent a 3rd on Crawford where does he fit in?
Cornerback: Porter, McCoy.
Who will start opposite of Stokes?
Safety: Pola-Mao, Stukes.
Will the rookie overcome the veteran?
Kicker: Gay or Tokyo Toe?
Tonka Hemingway? one name not accounted for ..
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:08 am
by Attyla
16 to 88 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:42 pm
Keep in mind that some of the best guards in the NFL were drafted later on. Thuney, Lewis, J. Jackson, Meinerz, Seumalo were all 3rd rounders. Smith (kc), Onwenu were 6th rounders. Rogers was a 3rd and is a big very athletic guy that should fit right in the ZBS. And, Pete's kid is out and now he will have Dennison teaching him...
and a lot of sheer garbage was drafted in the later rounds as well.
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:15 am
by SuperRaider
Rodgers did get some good reviews once he started to play…I think he actually sat on the bench for the first 12 games last year…..so I am hoping Rodgers can be a decent starter for the raiders….
The problem is that Pete was either at war with raiders front office about not starting last year draft pick as Grant sat on the bench almost all season; so us Raider fans have no idea if this guy anygood
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 5:07 am
by raidersince63
Re: Positon Battles
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 7:13 am
by haji81872
So much good stuff there, like Johnny Lam Jones being a #2 pick with 35 catches his senior year. However in Texas' offense at the time that was record breaking.
However, I will fight anyone who says Russell is not the #1 bust of all time. Come on, not even close.