Getting us out out of a Tight-End

With David Ausberry having just had surgery and Nick Kasa likely out for the season we are in a little bit of a proverbial pickle. But don’t panic Raider-Nation as RaidaLove has a couple of ideas, chiefly the possibility of us picking up a free agent…..”but there aren’t any out there” I hear you scream….well lets look at the possibilities:-

(1) Kyle Auffray – the Cleveland Browns just waived this kid, who was previously on the NE Patriots roster… “if he was that good surely they’d hold onto him?” – number one I’m not called Shirely, and number 2 have you seen the TE’s on the Browns and Pats rosters. Auffray has great size (6’6″ and 255 lbs), speed (timed at 4.6 seconds over 40 yards), is a decent blocker and has good hands, to be honest I can see him starting for us not simply being a backup. Another thing I like about this kid is that he can also play backup punter!!
http://www.thefootballeducator.com/kyle-auffray-tight-end-every-teams-radar/

(2) we wait until the roster cuts, and pick one of the numerous talented TE’s that are bound to be cut (watch Detroit). This could be a great strategy, particularly as it means we also give Brian Leonhardt and Jake Murphy a bit more time. Murphy has reportedly been impressing in camp, but his drop against the Vikings in the first pre-season game do worry me

(3) we trade for someone, I guess this would definitely work, particularly if trade someone we are looking to cut….any ideas here readers?

(4) we make do with Murphy, Leonhardt and Rivera….another distinct possibility, particularly as Ausberry is reportedly recovering well (Kasa looks like he’s out for the season)

(5) We switch multi-talented FB/RB/HB Marcel Reece out wide a bit more often – this could be the real gold (and a great sleeper for fantasy leagues), and what I envisage them doing, once again particularly if Ausberry heels quick.

Let me know your thought Raider-nation, and we can really get to the bottom of this particular ‘tight-end’.

Some Good UDFA’s

Reggie has proved his mettle here before, so I’m expected more of the same this year, here’s a comprehensive list http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2014-nfl-undrafted-free-agents but a few names that jumped out included Texas WR Mike Davis, Utah TE Jake Murphy and LB Carlos Fields Jr, those three kids definitely have the potential to make the 53-man roster. Also I imagine George Atkinson III and Karl Williams should have enough to make the practise squad.

Carlos Fields has explosive speed and is a very reliable run-defender, on watching the tape on him the thing that really stands out is that he doesn’t always go for the glory hit, instead focussing on stopping the player, a very useful trait in a LB.

Jake Murphy is a really strong TE prospect, that if he’d stayed in college another year would probably have been a top-4 round pick, but he has a family to feed and decided to take the plunge…luckily we were ready to give him the opportunity, seriously expect this kid to be starting some time this year.

Mike Davis looked like a certain mid-round WR, no guarantee to make the roster but great competition for Criner et al. Davis really struggled with poor QB-play at Texas.

Before I go I wanted to share a link with you on the surprise-Raiders draft choice this year, DE/DT Shelby Harris, this kid didn’t even play last year because of various troubles, but as Reggie showed with Stacy McGee last year sometimes its worth giving a kid a second-chance. anyway here’s the link http://www.raiders.com/news/2014-Draft/article-1/Shelby-Harris-Discusses-His-Fresh-Start/0d916c31-abde-453d-8f50-81b1d5e3620f