As we approach the NFL Draft in April, TFDS is ranking the top prospects at every position.  Today's focus, the last of the series of offensive positions, is on the Centers and Guards.  Two of the most under appreciated positions in the NFL, Guards and Centers rarely get the credit they deserve on a well working offensive line.

Not glory boys like offensive tackles, Centers and Guards are the players responsible for guarding the quarterback from the biggest threats he'll face - pressure up the middle from defensive tackles and blitzing linebackers or safeties.

Most defenses love a soft interior offensive line because it's much easier to rush up the gut than expend energy trying to go around a left tackle.  Here are some prospects the Raiders may consider as they look to solidify their offensive line play under new OL coach Tony Sparano

Centers/Guards:

1. Chance Warmack 6’2 322 lbs Alabama
Dominant is the word that comes to mind when I watch Warmack, who is probably the best college football player in the country.  Unfortunately, he’s not typically recognized as such because of the position he plays.  However, Warmack has dominated SEC defenses routinely as a member of Alabama’s line. 

He’s able to keep some of the best defensive linemen in college football at bay, locking on and eating them up with a vacuum grip.  Warmack has a great anchor and uses his hands well in pass protection and those skills transfer well to driving linemen back in the run game. 

Warmack will be great addition to any OL and although he played G at Alabama, Center may be a better position due to size.
Pro Comparison: Bobbie Williams

This week in Mobile, Alabama, 32 NFL teams will get an up-close look at some of the draft’s fastest rising prospects. None will get a closer look, however, than the North and South coaching staffs.

While Jim Schwartz and his Detroit Lions coaching staff will work with the South squad, Dennis Allen and the Raiders will be coaching the North

This could not come at a better time for the talent-thirsty Raiders as they quickly approach a crucial draft. While every draft is important, the Raiders have so many holes on their roster that they need to come away with players they can build around - especially with their first round selection, where the Raiders haven’t had much luck over the last decade.

The Senior Bowl will also allow Allen’s staff the opportunity to work with the less heralded draft prospects in hopes that they can find a few diamonds in the rough. Luckily for the Raiders, the North defense is absolutely stacked with players who look like NFL starters.

Here are some North squad draft prospects who could fit in with the Raiders:

The Raiders have reportedly made (but not yet officially announced) the somewhat surprising hire of Greg Olson as their new offensive coordinator.  Olson was surprising because he has had a few chances at being an offensive coordinator in the NFL already and has never showed any amazing success.

I wanted to see how Olson had done in his previous stops so I gathered the following data to see how he stacked up with both his predecessors and his successors.

First, for comparison purposes, here are the numbers for the last two years for the Raiders:

Now, here is a chart that shows how teams did before, during and after Greg Olson was their offensive coordinator. I also included some defensive numbers to see if there was any indication that his offense helped the defense get better.  There are some conclusions that will be drawn below but here is the data.

TFDS is going through every position in preparation for the 2013 NFL Draft in April.  Today, we are looking at the top prospects at offensive tackle.  While the Raiders have an above average tackle in Veldheer, they lack any great option to pair with him and many think that the Raiders may be in the market for a tackle in the draft either to put at right tackle or, possibly, to draft a new left tackle and shift Veldheer to the right side.

Here are my top 5 picks, in order, for the 2013 Draft offensive tackles.

Offensive Tackles:

1. Luke Joeckel 6’6 310 lbs Texas A&M
Joeckel looks like he can enter the NFL as a Pro Bowl caliber tackle straight away; he shows great athleticism, range and technique much in the same vein as high first round picks Joe Thomas and Jake Long. Has great burst and vision in running game, generating great push at the LOS while not allowing penetration into the backfield.

Joeckel gets to 2nd level well, opening lanes for running backs. His slick footwork and vision will make ZBS teams love him.  Joeckel has smooth sliding feet and a good hand punch out of his stance, then he anchors well against a power rush.  He also has the strength and ability to extend his long arms against a speed rusher who is trying to get outside him and direct the defender off of the QB. 

In the instances when he’s initially beaten at the snap, he shows the ability to recover well and lock back on to defender.  He needs to add some nastiness to his game and some overall strength but he’ll be able to bulk up in an NFL weight room and I think he is a better prospect then 2012 top tackle Matt Kalil.
Pro Comparison: Tyron Smith

UPDATED: With rumors that the Raiders either are interested or have interviewed former OC Marc Trestman and Greg Olson who was last Jacksonville's QB coach but has also served as an OC for several teams, I've updated the data, below, for comparison

With this week’s news that Mike Martz had interviewed for the Raiders offensive coordinator job I wanted to get some data on how Martz had done as a play-caller.  In gathering this data, I became interested in other candidates as well, so I gathered information on some of the other possible candidates and then, for comparison, I threw in data from the Raiders last two offensive coordinators, Greg Knapp and Hue Jackson, at the bottom.  Norv Turner is also included despite likely going to Cleveland to be their next OC.
 

The list below is the coach, year he called plays for the team and his title. For the purposes of this list I only included years in which they called plays (for example, Al Saunders was Hue Jackson’s OC in 2011 but it didn’t count for him because he didn’t call the plays).
 

The two numbers after the year are both based on what I consider the most important stat, points per game.  I dislike using the “total offense” stat because that is yards per game and there are some offenses that are very good at scoring and some that can generate a lot of yards but struggle to get into the end zone.  Obviously, the point of the offense is to score the most points, so I went with what I consider the most important stat.
 

Take a look through the information below. This is just data, it doesn’t take into account the talent of the players or any other additional considerations which obviously make a difference.  With this information, who would you want as the Raiders next OC?

After the year, the first number is where the offense ranked, based on points scored and the second number is the average points per game that year.
 

It’s the time of year where fans of teams that didn’t make playoffs turn their attention to the draft and look to the future. Unfortunately, Raiders fans are apart of that collective. I will be giving you a look at the top prospects (senior and juniors that have declared to date, only) at every position as we head towards the 2013 NFL draft. We will post refreshed rankings after the combine, pro days, etc.

We have already ranked the Quarterbacks, Running Backs and Wide Receivers and today we look at tight ends.  Tight end will be interesting for the Raiders this offseason.  The Raiders had a breakout at the position in Brandon Myers but he will be an unrestricted free agent if he isn’t resigned by the team before free agency opens.

The other two tight ends on the roster, David Ausberry and Richard Gordon showed promise early on but both were give less and less playing time as the season went on.  Both are likely to make it to training camp but neither is a lock to make the final squad which means the Raiders could have an entirely new tight end squad next season.

If the Raider do not re-sign Myers, one of these prospects could take his place.

Tight-Ends:

1. Tyler Eifert 6’5" 255 lbs Notre Dame
Eifert is an elite receiving tight end. He gets up and catches the ball at its highest point as good as anyone. He adjusts well to the ball mid-air and is able to make tough catches at awkward angles. He is also good at shielding out defenders to catch the ball.  He has “glue-like” hands and if the ball is thrown to him, he usually comes down with it. Solid route runner and a good blocker with great technique both in-line and chip blocking. Great all round prospect could go in first round.
Pro Comparison: Jason Witten

It’s the time of year where fans of teams that didn’t make playoffs turn their attention to the draft and look to the future. Unfortunately, Raiders fans are apart of that collective. I will be giving you a look at the top prospects (senior and juniors that have declared to date, only) at every position as we head towards the 2013 NFL draft. We will post refreshed rankings after the combine, pro days, etc.

Today's focus is on wide receivers.  While the Raiders are very unlikely to take a wide receiver in the first round and lack a second round pick. However, receiver is an area of weakness with them and they may look for at a pass-catcher if one they like falls into the 3rd round.

Wide Receivers:

1. Keenan Allen 6’3 210 lbs California
Allen is a natural hands receiver who has the ability to catch the ball away from his body.  Although he suffers from the occasional concentration drop he more than makes up for it with his ability to make some stunning catches too. He uses his body well to shield defenders from an approaching ball so he can get a reception even when covered.

Allen doesn’t have elite speed but he has the ability to create separation and is deceptively fast for his size. He can use his size and athletic ability well and will help out his quarterback by allowing them to throw the ball up for grabs where he’ll climb the ladder to bring it down.

Allen is coming off an injury so the medical testing and skill tests at the combine/pro day will be big for him but if he tests well in those areas he should get drafted high.
Pro Comparison: Dez Bryant