Mailbag: Should Raiders reunite Monken, Beck and Bowers?

Returning Raider Nation’s questions as we put a bow on the 2024 season

We’ve reached the finish line as the Las Vegas Raiders will put a bow on the 2024 campaign with the Week 18 season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. The game is just a formality as this week’s mailbag focuses on the NFL Draft, free agency and potential head coach search.

Q: Matt do you think the Raiders would take a chance with Carson Beck and bring Todd Monken as a head coach if they can’t trade for Cam Ward?

A: I understand where you’re coming from since Monken was Georgia’s offensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022 and has experience working with Pro Bowl tight end Brock Bowers and Beck. However, Monken left for the Baltimore Ravens’ OC job when Beck became the starter, so it’s not as if they have a proven track record together.

Also, after diving deeper into the former Bulldog quarterback’s tape, I’m not a fan of his game. I liked him a lot heading into the season and he has plenty of arm talent, but I have serious questions about Beck’s ability to read a defense. There were a lot of throws that were inexplicable and right into coverage.

Beck is similar to Jameis Winston, who has struggled to maintain a starting job and become one of the most frustrating quarterbacks in the NFL.

If Monken becomes the head coach, I’d be more interested in seeing the Raiders target Jalen Milroe. I’m not a huge fan of Milroe either, but he also has a strong arm and can run, similar to what Monken has in Lamar Jackson with the Ravens.

Obviously, the Alabama product has a long way to go to be anywhere near the two-time MVP’s caliber, but there are similarities between those two, and I could see/understand the vision.

Q: Matt, 3 QBs I really like for the the Raiders are Cam Ward, J.J. Mccarthy and Hendon Hooker. I know all would require a trade and Ward would require the most draft capital and Hooker the least. My question is, given all it would take and the potential of each of these QBs, which of the 3 do you think would benefit the Raiders the most?

Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images

A: It’d be close between Ward and McCarthy for me and would depend on who they hire as head coach/offensive coordinator.

If it’s someone from the Shanahan/McVay tree, I’d target McCarthy as he fits that offense well and is currently learning that system with Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota. For Ward, I’d like Joe Brady because Brady has experience working with QBs who can execute the off-script plays and can teach them the balance between being a playmaker and being reckless.

I was never a big fan of Hooker, so I’d like to see Las Vegas stay away from him.

Q: I propose a dream hypothetical. Mike Vrabel as head coach, letting Patrick Graham go and keeping Antonio Pierce on as DC. J.J. McCarthy trade for Maxx Crosby and a couple mid draft picks. Maybe a 3 and 4 coming to us. I don’t know what the Vikings cap is, but to me that is a trade that appeals to both sides. Can we run this up the flag pole and see if it flies?

A: In my opinion, if the Raiders are going to move on from Pierce, they have to move on from him instead of giving him a demotion. That’d be a very awkward dynamic to have a new head coach with the old one still in the building. Also, I’ll take Graham who has experience and has been a successful defensive coordinator over Pierce who has never been a DC in the NFL and only held that job for two years at ASU.

As far as the Vikings go, they have more than $75 million available, per Over The Cap. But if they sign Sam Darnold to an extension, that will significantly eat into their cap space. Plus, Minnesota has a couple of good edge-rushers in Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel and a young developing player in Dallas Turner, a first-round pick last season. Crosby is better than all of those guys, but the point is it’s not a pressing need for them to justify taking on the cap hit.

Long story short, I don’t really see this happening.

Q: RaaaDuh’s first pick for Trevor Lawrence ( send them back Uncle Rico Raider too)… you making that trade Matt?

A: I would but the Jaguars wouldn’t, lol. They just signed Lawrence to a contract extension in the offseason and would eat a good amount of money by trading him a year later. I actually asked this question with my Jaguars counterpart ahead of the game, and he was pretty quick to shut it down.

Q: Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders in the first round and Cam Skattebo in the second, or Ashton Jeanty in the first and Dillon Gabriel/Carson Beck/Drew Allar in the second?

Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images

A: Easy, the first one.

I think Skattebo is closer to a third-round pick, but I do like him as a target for the Raiders and the team isn’t in a position to spend a first-rounder on a running back, let alone a top 10 selection. Also, Allar is going back to school (for now) and I wouldn’t give second-round grades to Gabriel and Beck.

Q: With the players the Raiders have today, do you think they will develop into a top 12 offensive line next season?

A: I definitely think they can. Jackson Powers-Johnson and Jordan Meredith have been really good this season and DJ Glaze has shown flashes of being a quality starting right tackle, he’s just an inconsistent rookie right now. Dylan Parham started the year playing well but has fizzled out, so he would be one of the bigger question marks. And while Kolton Miller has fallen off this season, he’s still a good left tackle who can play at a high level next year.

A: I understand that Miller hasn’t played like he has in the past but, again, he’s still been good enough, in my opinion. I don’t think the Raiders should be creating more needs for themselves and if they’re going to have a rookie quarterback, moving on from a quality veteran left tackle wouldn’t be a good idea. Next year is a contract year for Miller, so that’s when I’d look into replacing him.

To put things into perspective for Meredith, he’s currently PFF’s eighth-highest graded guard. To me, he’s proven he can be a starter. Parham is definitely expendable and it wouldn’t surprise me if Las Vegas targets his replacement this offseason.

A: Joe Brady at head coach, Ronald Curry at offensive coordinator and Jim Schwartz at defensive coordinator.

I leaned more into ‘realistic’ than ‘dream’ here. I like the idea of giving Brady a shot to be the next Sean McVay and if he’s the head coach, the OC is really more of a quarterbacks coach. Curry is currently the QB coach in Buffalo, so he’s familiar with Brady’s offense and has a connection to the Raiders having played in Oakland from 2002 to 2009. Schwartz is more of a dream but it wouldn’t be surprising if Cleveland fires some coaches with how this season has gone for them and he’d be one of the top DC candidates available if let go.

A: I’m on board with McCarthy and, as mentioned above, it’d between him and Ward at quarterback for me. Ben Johnson would be a good hire, but he’s picky and will be the top head coach candidate this offseason, so I don’t see him signing on with the Raider since the team doesn’t have a quarterback nor a clear path to one right now.

A: I think Patrick Graham turning down a contract extension last offseason was primarily because he wants to be a head coach. He drew interest last year and it’s easier to get a HC job as a free agent than being under contract.

Granted, Brown is an Ivy League grad and is smarter than all of us, so maybe he knew things weren’t going to workout with Pierce and wanted to keep his options open this spring. LOL!

That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.