General Manager Reggie McKenzie
Thursday morning, Oakland Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie appeared on 95.7 The GAME to chat with radio host J.T. The Brick. While on the air, McKenzie touched on a variety of topics, specifically the amount of talented, young players on the roster. The Silver and Black are in the midst of the Offseason Workout Program, and will begin Organized Team Activities next month.
Here are the quick hits from their conversation:
McKenzie expressed his confidence in rookie linebacker Marquel Lee and what he expects to see from No. 55.
"We definitely think he has the potential to start, he's a long ways away from that; we haven't even begun to get the pads on. So, a lot will be determined between training camp and preseason, but so far he's looked very well. At the time, we just, as far as a linebacker at that point, he was the best guy on the board, and we jumped all over that."
He talked about the addition of several defensive backs to the Raiders roster.
"We just knew we needed some depth and we needed to play matchup football, so we made sure we were able to do that. I feel like we got some really good players at those positions, at both safety and corner, we feel like this is a passing league and we need to be able to cover."
McKenzie discussed defensive end Mario Edwards, Jr.'s, motivation this upcoming season.
"He's extremely motivated because he wants to show the league that he's a dominant football player, not just a solid football [player], but he's dominant. He's healthy, he's strong, he's in a good mindset, so he's ready to roll, and we are extremely anxious to see him get going come this season."
He touched on the depth at the tight end position, and said that he is confident in the group.
**
An exclusive look at Day 19 of the Offseason Workout Program.
**
"We got a great combination of both experience and youth, and we have great size at that position. We have some tight ends that can do some different things, not only block and catch, but guys that can flex and create some mismatches that way. We've got good versatility, but like I said, the youth combination with experience is very good with that group, so it's going to be extremely competitive and exciting to watch."
McKenzie spoke about running back Marshawn Lynch's presence since joining the team.
"He's been great, he's been great in meetings, he's been great on the field, he looks to be going very well as far as his progress physically on the field. He's doing quite nicely, and we think he's going to be a really good help on the field. Even that, off the field he's been great with the team, he's meshed very well, he's already well entrenched as being one of the guys. It's going very well with him amongst the team."
