Al Davis influence seen in Jon Gruden's early Raiders draft picks

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ALAMEDA –- Jon Gruden’s mother called during the first two days of this year's NFL Draft with an interesting thought. She assessed her son’s early selections, and believed it looked like a Raiders draft of old.

“My mom called,” Gruden relayed, “and she said that, ‘Maybe Mr. Davis was calling the picks down from Heaven.’”

Look closer at Kolton Miller, P.J. Hall, Brandon Parker, Arden Key and Martavis Bryant, a veteran acquired in trade the Raiders are counting among the draft class. You’ll see Gruden’s mother is right.

This year’s early picks have shades of Al Davis. There’s excellent size and speed in the Raiders’ selections. All of them have athleticism to spare.

“It’s a philosophy that I have, it’s a philosophy that I learned here,” Gruden said. “Bigger guys can be a good thing, faster can be better.”

Bryant and Key are looking for a clean slate, something else Al Davis did for the truly talented.

“We feel like we added one of the fastest receivers in all of football today in Martavis Bryant, two really outstanding, young, massive offensive tackles that can pull, that can pass protect, that continue to get better that will fight, that will take us to another level with execution, an inside rusher and an edge rusher and that’s all we did today – add five young players that we think can be dynamic,” Gruden said. “That’s just a prediction right now, but I feel good about it.”

Fans will feel better if Gruden’s all-star, handpicked coaching staff can develop young talent. All of these guys – save Bryant – need seasoning.

Offensive line coach Tom Cable has a big job ahead, grooming Miller and Parker to be starting tackles. Defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and coordinator Paul Guenther must help Hall and Key generate pressure. Key must support off the edge, and Hall will fill a spot at three-technique that’s vital to this scheme’s success.

Gruden has been aggressive during this draft, executing trades that impacted each pick. He traded up for Parker and Key, down to get Miller and Hall and used an acquired pick to import Bryant in a trade.

“It’s exciting, it’s nerve-racking, I hate it,” Gruden said. “You’re hoping your guy slips, you’re hoping your guy falls. Sometimes you get heartbroken, sometimes you get excited, but it’s a long day for sure.”

This is Gruden’s draft and he’s calling the shots. But he and general manager Reggie McKenzie have worked together to execute all these moves, and Gruden’s happy with the early returns, as well as excited about Saturday’s final rounds.

“We’re fired up,” Gruden said. "At the beginning, I thought Reggie did a good job and I thought we work well together. There were some tense moments. It’s not easy working with me, I’ll be honest. I’m a pain in the ass up there. I’m really happy with what we got done here in the first two days.”

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