After a two-week tour of the South – first a week in Alabama, then Atlanta for the week leading up to Super Bowl LVIII – I'm back in Northern California, and I couldn't be happier to be home.
During those two weeks outside 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway, the trusty Mailbag unfortunately fell by the wayside, but fear not, we're back in action this week.
Per usual, thanks for your questions, they're always very much appreciated, and even the ones I don't answer, just know that I read them all.
Here we go.
EP: We were just talking in the studio today about how interesting the next few months are going to be, not just for the Raiders, but the entire league as a whole.
Is there a consensus No. 1 guy in this year's class? I mean, maybe Nick Bosa, but with his medical history still kind of up in the air, we've seen a handful of guys get mock drafted to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 1 overall.
Outside of Bosa though, who's the next best guy out there? And perhaps an even more intriguing question, who's the best quarterback in this class?
What I'm getting at though, is there aren't a ton of known quantities in this year's draft class, and that makes things really, really fun for all of us who are going to be chopping it up between now and Draft Day.
Sean, you mentioned that draft capital – the three first-round picks for those of you who forget – and that capital means the options are endless for Coach Gruden, Mike Mayock and their respective staffs.
Well, not quite endless, but you get the point.
Would I be surprised if the Raiders stayed at No. 4? Nope.
Would I be surprised if they get an offer and moved down? Nope.
What about if they got wild and moved up? That wouldn't surprise me either; like I said, this is going to be fun.
EP: Collectively, I think it's fair to say we hope he has a big future in Silver and Black.
After joining the team as an undrafted free agent last May, Warren was an absolute truck during training camp and the preseason.
And yes, I know it was just, the preseason, but come on now, the former Texas Longhorn was a monster during that four-game stretch.
As we all know though, an injury forced CWIII to spend the season on the reserve/injured list, but make no mistake about it, he's a dude I'm going to have my eye on throughout this whole offseason.
Particularly with Marshawn Lynch scheduled to hit free agency at the start of the new league year, I'm very intrigued by No. 34.
EP: It's a bit of a cliché, but I really think it's the truth in this case, I think priority No. 1 at this point is getting across the board.
Let's be real for a second and realize that the Raiders are coming off a 4-12 campaign, and while the team no doubt played their best football of the year down the stretch, the fact remains that the Silver and Black finished the year eight games under .500.
Both Coach Gruden and Mayock have been open about the areas on the roster that need to be better; the Raiders struggled mightily at times last year to get to the opposing quarterback, and another explosive playmaker out wide would certainly be a welcome sight.
What I'm getting at is that no stone will go unturned this offseason, and the beauty of the team's draft positioning is that they'll be able to address a lot of those areas.
*Our last question this week is an internal one; our digital guru Dave brought this up and I thought it was a good one, so here we go.
From Dave G: How many times have the Raiders played at Lambeau Field?
EP: Per my research, the Silver and Black have played seven regular season games at Lambeau Field. They're 3-4 in those games, with the last matchup between the two teams coming in 2011.
Coach Gruden and Co., will return to Lambeau at some point this season, we'll have to wait until the schedule comes out to know exactly which week though.
