Williamson: Raiders one piece away from fielding elite offense

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

Oakland is one piece away from having one of the NFL’s best offenses. That might sound crazy, and it actually felt weird typing it, but it is very true. What do the Raiders have in place now on this side of the ball, and what is that final ingredient?

Most importantly, Oakland has a quarterback in place in Derek Carr. He’s the real deal. Giving a detailed scouting report on the Raiders’ soon-to-be third year quarterback would encompass this entire article, but he has all the physical traits you look for at the position. In his second season as Oakland’s starter, he took a huge jump with the mental aspects of the position. This is Carr’s offense now, and the Raiders are very fortunate to have him. Having Carr in place has helped the Raiders attract players from other teams to join this roster.

Over the past two offseasons, Oakland has done an excellent job of reinforcing and drastically improving the huge human beings in front of Carr. Rodney Hudson was added a year ago in free agency, and Oakland gave Kelechi Osemele a left tackle-like contract to line up next to Hudson at right guard. The Raiders also brought back Donald Penn, a very solid starting left tackle, and at left guard, Gabe Jackson is one of the league’s up-and-comers at the position. Oakland now has one of the league’s best offensive lines.

Carr also has a fine young core of pass-catchers that should only be improved from a year ago. The player on this team that might very well be poised to take the biggest leap from 2015 this upcoming season is Clive Walford. Rarely do tight ends succeed in their rookie year, but Walford flashed his potential and kept getting better as the season went along. That progress coupled with an awful lot of natural ability should make him a very formidable target in the middle of the field and near the goal line for Carr. Walford could breakout.

Amari Cooper will be great. He truly hit a “rookie wall” late in the year, had too many drops, and was battling injuries as the season went on, but he burst on the scene in a big way early in the season. Cooper is basically the definition of what you look for in a top receiving weapon, and is only 21-years-old. He will be a star.

Michael Crabtree is the perfect complementary receiver for Cooper. He is a physical player with exceptional hands and ball skills. He attacks the ball in the air and plays the game hard. Assuming he stays healthy, Crabtree should have little problem reaching the 85-catch number he posted in his first season in Oakland.

But that brings us to running back, which is where the Raiders need an upgrade to complete this offense. Latavius Murray rushed for just over 1,000 yards and averaged 4.0 yards per rush last year, but he is ideally suited to be a high-end No. 2 running back rather than a lead dog. Murray has some unique traits with his extreme height for the position and very good long speed for a big back, but he isn’t shifty in tight quarters, and isn’t enough of a factor in the passing game.

So what is the answer to this problem? Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott is exactly the do-it-all running back that the Raiders need. He is exceptional in all phases of the passing game and is a great inside runner and threat outside the tackles. He has well-above-average balance, power, and pad level with start/stop and lateral agility that few runners his size and power possess. But is Elliott going to be on the board when Oakland picks at 14?

While it seems unlikely that Dallas, who values blockers much more than running backs, selects Elliott with the fourth pick overall, there are four teams that pick before Oakland that will have an extremely difficult time bypassing Elliott. Philadelphia at eight, the Giants at 10, Chicago at 11, and the Dolphins at 13th overall all could very much use a lead running back like Elliott. However, with the status of the Raiders’ roster right now, they should at least heavily inquire about trading up to get this target player.

Will Oakland end up with Elliott? The reality is that they probably will not. If he is scooped up before the Raiders can make him their own, there are a few other running backs in this draft who would make sense picking on the second day and could either challenge Murray immediately, possibly unseat him as the top option, or at least make for a formidable committee. The two names the Raiders should look at as consolation prizes for Elliott are Kenneth Dixon and Jonathan Williams.

Reggie McKenzie has done a terrific job building the Raiders into a contender for the AFC West title. Now he needs to add the last piece of the puzzle to his offense in the form of a talented young running back.