5 things to know about the Raiders before camp opens

Here’s my training-camp preview for the Raiders. The Raiders may be on the upswing. They have a quality head coach (Jack Del Rio), college football’s top offensive weapon from 2014 (Amari Cooper) and a franchise quarterback (Derek Carr). But Oakland still has a ways to go before it becomes a playoff contender. Here are five key questions the Raiders will face during training camp: 1. Do they have a deep-threat…

July 22, 2015
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Raiders fixed a symptom, not the source

This is my Tuesday column on the firing of Dennis Allen. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. ALAMEDA — Unfortunately, Dennis Allen was not the Raiders’ biggest problem. Yes, he is a bad head coach. And, yes, he deserved to get fired. But he didn’t deserve to get hired in the first place. Allen had been an NFL defensive coordinator for one…

September 30, 2014
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Raiders flop at free agency

This is my Wednesday column. WARNING: This is a Raiders column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. You’ve got to wait on Raiders’ general manager Reggie McKenzie, give him a chance. Don’t judge him on his first two horrible seasons. Those weren’t his fault. He had to tear down Al Davis’ mess. You can’t judge McKenzie until Year 3. Fifteen minutes into Year 3, McKenzie flopped. McKenzie let…

March 12, 2014
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Quinton Patton vs. D.J. Hayden highlights

On September 9th, 2012, Louisiana Tech played the University of Houston, which means Quinton Patton faced D.J. Hayden. Hayden held Patton to 4 catches on 11 targets for 36 yards and no touchdowns – Patton’s worst performance of the season. A few months later, the Oakland Raiders drafted Hayden with the 12th pick and the 49ers drafted Patton with the 128th pick. This morning I found some clips of the…

May 16, 2013
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Grant’s final 49ers’ mock draft

Here is my final 49ers mock draft: 1. Trade the 31st, 34th and 128th pick to the Dolphins for the 12th pick, and draft CB D.J. Hayden from Houston. 2. With the 61st pick, draft CB Darius Slay from Mississippi St. 3. With the 73rd pick, draft DT John Jenkins from Georgia. 4. With the 94th pick, draft WR Marquise Goodwin from Texas. 5. With the 131st pick, draft FS Josh Evans from…

April 25, 2013
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Cosell breaks down the best cornerbacks in the NFL draft

Greg Cosell broke down the upcoming draft’s top cornerbacks on a Yahoo podcast Friday morning. Here’s what Cosell said. D.J. Hayden COSELL: I watched four games of D.J. Hayden this week, and I’m telling you it was the first time I’d ever seen him play, and as I’m watching I say, “Wait a second, this guy’s the best corner in the draft.” My guess is he won’t be drafted as…

April 19, 2013
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49ers meeting with CB D.J. Hayden today

University of Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden is meeting with the 49ers today, according to Adam Caplan, who says Hayden is considered a late-first, early-second round draft pick. The 49ers have a late first and an early second round pick. Do you think they’ll use one of them on Hayden? Last year in practice, Hayden tore his interior vena cava, a vein that carries blood from the lower body to the…

April 15, 2013
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