Safety inspection of Oakland Raiders defense

As the offseason began, the question in the secondary was going to be whether or not the Oakland Raiders were going to retain Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson at cornerback, but with the surprise release of Gibril Wilson and the departure of Rashad Baker, the question moved to the safety position.

The biggest question mark is the play of 2006 first round pick Michael Huff. Thus far in his career, he has failed to live up to the expectations surrounding a seventh overall pick. He has not emerged as the playmaker that the Raiders had expected upon selecting him out of Texas. His best play came at strong safety where he was able to silence the tight ends in coverage, but he is a liability as a tackler which is a bad trait to have as a safety. His move to free safety in 08 was supposed to lead to a breakout year, but he was benched for the combination of Hiram Eugene and Rashad Baker midway through the season. He is too expensive against the cap for the Raiders to cut in 09, which makes it a make or break year for him.

Hiram Eugene is a top notch special teams player, and a serviceable back-up at safety. He is the opposite of Huff, in that he is a solid tackle but is not very good in coverage. He did, however, show a tendency to make touchdown saving tackles in 08. He is the type of guy who is best suited towards spot duty and special teams play, but not the guy you want as an every day starter.

Tyvon Branch showed some flashes in coverage in his rookie year of 2008 before going down with a wrist injury. The Raiders are hoping that Branch can take a starting spot in training camp. However, with Branch having an early season hand injury and a season ending wrist injury, durability is going to be a question.

Darrick Brown was on the Raiders practice squad for 08. He saw limited time during the season, and will need to have a surprising camp if he is going to even make the team.

The free agent market consists mostly of has beens or never broke outs. The marquee name is Roy Williams from the Dallas Cowboys who is a solid tackler, but is worthless in coverage. He also would be good for several fifteen yard horsecollar penalties a season. The Raiders would be wise to take a pass on him. The Raiders would actually be wise to stay out of the free agent market all together at this position until after they see what they can get in the draft. There is no single player who is a must-sign on the market at this point. If they don't get a safety prospect, they can then look at Will Demps, Corey Chaveous, or former Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson.

With there being a dearth of quality safeties in the draft, the Raiders should be looking at this position with their third round pick. The Raiders could get Oregon's Patrick Chung, Alabama's Rashad Johnson, or Chip Vaughn out of Wake Forest. Any of these three would be an instant starter on the Raiders defense and provide an upgrade at the safety position.

The Raiders do have more pressing issues than safety, but it is an area that has more questions than answers. A third round draft pick and a veteran presence would provide a cost effective improvement at this position, which would improve the Raiders defense come 2009.

See more at www.examiner.com

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