Raider Ramble

With free agency set to take over the football landscape this week, NFL mock draft scenarios will begin to take a more realistic look. Take the Las Vegas Raiders, for example, as their fans are clamoring for a quarterback. The likelihood is high that Dave Ziegler will find a signal-caller at some point during this player’s selection meeting. Now, whether it’s in the first round is another question entirely. What we do know for certain is that Patrick Graham’s defense has some serious holes. Perhaps none is larger than their inability to get to the quarterback. Other than Maxx Crosby, the entire defensive line needs some fine-tuning. Ziegler has gone on record with regard to how he views building an NFL defense. Most organizations these days build from the inside out, meaning they start with the defensive line and go from there. Well, Ziegler, too, believes this. “I think having a strong defensive line sets the tone for the rest of the defense. Now, that doesn’t mean — you can find a good player, draft a good player. We’ve talked about drafting the best available players, but I think having a deep defensive line that can disrupt, that you can run in waves and things of that nature.”