5 reasons the Raiders trade for Antonio Brown was terrible

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 23: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a touchdown during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

2 of 5

SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 23: Khalil Mack #52 of the Chicago Bears runs onto the field prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

4. Antonio Brown doesn’t sack the quarterback

When the Raiders made the controversial decision to ship Khalil Mack to Chicago they effectively kissed their entire pass rush goodbye. Brown is a nice addition for Gruden’s offense, but he doesn’t fill the team’s biggest need.

As a reminder, Oakland only managed to come up with 13 sacks as a team last season. Not only did that place them dead last in the NFL in that category, it also meant the closest team more than doubled their output by getting to the quarterback 30 times. The Raiders could add one Pro Bowl pass rusher this offseason and still finish last in sacks by a comfortable margin in 2019.

The good news for the Raiders is that this year’s draft class is loaded with intriguing edge rushers. That lines up really well for a team that had three first round picks before the Brown trade. Now the chances of Gruden coming out of the draft with two effective edge rushers is drastically reduced.

The Raiders decision to trade for Brown is the equivalent of a family buying a Cadillac when they’re struggling to pay the rent. Both Brown and an Escalade will look shiny in the driveway, but neither will give their owners enough in the way of substance. If the Raiders don’t fix their pass rush it’s not going to matter how many balls Brown catches.

Home/Las Vegas Raiders