Raiders, no matter the reason, missed on Lynn Bowden
If this were a Clayton Kershaw curveball, one of those nasty 12-to-6 jobs, the Raiders swung through it in regard to rookie Lynn Bowden.
Whiff city, man.
The trade of third-round pick Bowden on Saturday to Miami for a fourth-round selection the Raiders actually sent the Dolphins last week will be evaluated for some time. Exactly how depends on how productive Bowden becomes as an NFL player.
Still, this is a bad look for the Raiders, whether it was totally football related or something more contentious. Trading this high a pick before he plays one snap in the league never happens. OK, so it rarely happens.
The Raiders also sent a sixth-round selection to Miami. I guess getting Bowden, the No. 80 pick in the draft, wasn’t enough.
In one way, the Raiders should be commended for admitting what they believe is a mistake and cutting their losses while Bowden’s value is probably at its highest. Move on and take the deserved criticism coming your way.
In another, how did they miss on Bowden from here to Minsk?
Joker’s wild
From the outset, and even as recently as the last few weeks, general manager Mike Mayock spoke about Bowden’s versatility. As difficult as making the transition from wide receiver and quarterback at Kentucky to running back in the NFL would be, Mayock said Bowden had done everything the Raiders asked.
“We just have to continue to give him the time to learn,” Mayock said.
Little did anyone know that meant 10 minutes.
It was reported on draft night in April that Bowden was the sort of player coach Jon Gruden had sought since returning to the franchise three years ago. One who could fill multiple roles. Run the ball. Catch the ball. Return kicks.
There is a name for such a position: Joker.
Lynn Bowden: Jack of all trades, master of none?
Or maybe there is only room in the Raiders’ hand for kings and queens.
“I’m shocked,” said Steve Arnold, Bowden’s coach at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, a program that has produced several NFL players. “I’m not out there, so I can’t speak to what the Raiders thought or what transpired. But I know what coach Gruden had projected (Bowden) to be for them. I know the young man can play. I know college is different than the NFL. I also truly believe he will be successful, and not just because I was his coach.
“I know his abilities and mindset. This will add fuel to his fire, that the Raiders doubted him.”
Things have been unusual, for sure. Scouts watch film and offer their assessment of players, but in a normal year management also has the opportunity to sit with prospects for an extended period before the draft.
See them eye to eye. Not just understand the car’s speed but to also look under its hood. Vet them in a way that is impossible through a zoom meeting. But not this year. Not in a COVID-19 existence.
There also were no preseason games in which to judge Bowden against opposing teams in a live situation. This might be as simple as he was beaten out in training camp by a player such as veteran Devontae Booker, signed as a free agent in May. Maybe others proved more valuable in the return game.
It’s also possible there were non-football factors to this. Shortly after the draft, Bowden was photographed handcuffed during a Drug Enforcement Agency search of a home in Ohio, where several firearms were seized. Bowden’s agent said the property is owned by a family member and the player was staying there with his young son.
Nothing about the incident in relation to Bowden has been reported since.
Own the whiff
Mayock is supposed to address the media Sunday regarding the team cutting to a 53-man roster.
“In the SEC two years ago, (Bowden) caught 60 to 70 passes as a slot (receiver),” Mayock said on draft night. “We think he’s one of the most athletic, tougher guys in this year’s draft. We’re going to train him to be a running back. If he’s able to do that job, we’ll be able to do some other things with him — move him around, let him catch the football.”
Bowden apparently wasn’t able to do the job, but whether that was strictly the reason for trading him or there is something non-football related to this, the narrative doesn’t change: The Raiders missed on the pick. A big-time whiff.
It happens. You own it and move on.
That, and hope Lynn Bowden doesn’t become a star.
Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.
