The Dallas Cowboys made a bold move for the present Monday Womens Derek Carr Jersey , trading a first-round pick for Oakland receiver Amari Cooper in Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s latest play for the future.The Cowboys gave up their top pick in the next draft in hopes of giving quarterback Dak Prescott another weapon just a few months after releasing franchise touchdown catch leader Dez Bryant in a cost-cutting move.Dallas (3-4) has struggled to score points while losing all four road games, including 20-17 Sunday at Washington . And Cowboys receivers haven’t made many big plays in their first season without Bryant and retired tight end Jason Witten, the club leader in catches.The Cowboys decided Bryant wasn’t worth $12.5 million in 2018 after three subpar seasons since signing a big contract following his only All-Pro year in 2014.Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said Cowboys executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones called last week to say he’d check in on Cooper on Monday and offered the first-round pick that the Raiders were holding out for before making a deal.Cooper was the fourth overall draft pick by the Raiders out of Alabama three years ago. He started his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and had two 100-yard games this year, but had just two targets and one catch since the second of those games.The 24-year-old Cooper — five years younger than Bryant — was placed in the concussion protocol after leaving Oakland’s last game against Seattle on Oct. 14.Dallas receivers have just one 100-yard game combined through seven games, by Cole Beasley in a Week 6 win over Jacksonville. The Cowboys are going into their bye week, and the Raiders are returning from their break to face Indianapolis at home Sunday.For Gruden, dealing his most accomplished receiver doesn’t compare to the preseason trade that sent two-time All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago. But it is another example of the Raiders (1-5) looking to the future.Oakland figures to have a good shot at the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, and now has three first-rounders with the Cooper trade.“This is where we get a great opportunity to build,” McKenzie said. “We’ve got pieces now, but we can really rebuild on what we have. With this group, the coaches that I’ve got here, knowing where we’re heading schematically on both sides of the ball and special teams, we’re going to build this thing . we’ve got the ammunition to build this thing really well.”Cooper was the third receiver started his career with back-to-back seasons with 1,000 yards receiving and 70 catches Antonio Brown Raiders Jersey , following Odell Beckham Jr. and Marques Colston but has been unable to build on that success the past two years.He has just 70 catches for 960 yards since the start of 2016 as his inconsistency has become a bigger problem. Cooper has been held under 30 yards receiving in 13 of his past 26 games. Cooper has 3,183 yards and 19 touchdowns in three-plus seasons.The Raiders have now dealt two key pieces away from a 12-win team in 2016 and look to be in major rebuilding mode now.“It’s disappointing. Real disappointing,” McKenzie said. “It was starting to get that way last year when we somewhat took a nosedive, but I understand the NFL, the system will not allow you to keep them all.”It’s not the first time Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has made a big trade for a former top-10 pick at receiver, and the other two attempts didn’t go well.In 2000, Jones sent two first-round picks to Seattle for Joey Galloway before the first of three straight 5-11 seasons. Galloway, drafted eighth overall by the Seahawks in 1995, didn’t have a 1,000-yard season in four years with the Cowboys.About this time 10 years ago, the Cowboys got Roy Williams from Detroit for three draft picks, including a first-rounder. The former Texas standout’s first full season with Dallas was his best, with 596 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.The Cowboys made the playoffs once in two-plus years with Williams, in 2009, when they won the franchise’s first postseason game since the last of five Super Bowl victories following the 1995 season. Williams was drafted seventh overall by the Lions in 2004. No matter what an NFL team does Womens Bo Jackson Jersey , there will be those who disagree with it. Every team is built differently and not all of them are going to work out as hoped. Few teams this offseason were more..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteSilver And Black Pridean Oakland Raiders communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsRaidersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Filed under:Raiders Free Agency 2019Raiders Draft 2019Raiders NewsRaiders offseason receives harsh criticism from some NFL execs while others see strategyNew,134commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareRaiders offseason receives harsh criticism from some NFL execs while others see strategyOakland RaidersNo matter what an NFL team does, there will be those who disagree with it. Every team is built differently and not all of them are going to work out as hoped. Few teams this offseason were more busy than the Raiders, so there was a lot to consider when ESPN put together their offseason grades.The Raiders were given a C+ grade.That’s not great, but there were certainly many teams who fared worse in the grades. It’s middle of the pack, considering there were 13 teams who got worse grades than the Raiders and a few who got the same grade. To help with their opinions on each team’s offseason moves, they asked some unnamed NFL executives to give their takes. This is where it gets interesting.Though the trade of Khalil Mack was not made this offseason, it was made just prior to last season and the first of the two draft picks acquired from the trade did occur in April when the Raiders made the Bears pick at 24 overall. They got Alabama RB Josh Jacobs.Also since then was the Amari Cooper trade which was made midseason and had the Raiders picking for the Cowboys at 27 overall, selecting Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram. One exec was not a fan of those swaps.”I would rather have Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper than Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram,” an exec said. “That is why it is dangerous to trade good players for draft picks. Those draft picks are super valuable until they are spent and then they are players that not everybody wants.”Another exec looked at the Mack trade in a different light. Because while the Raiders balked at the idea of paying the now 3-time All Pro Mack $23 million, they went out this offseason and made a somewhat unproven Trent Brown, who has never even made a Pro Bowl, the richest offensive lineman in NFL history.”They pass on Khalil Mack, but then they overpay the tackle [Trent Brown] and they overpay the safety [Lamarcus Joyner],” another exec said. “You could have had a dynamic pass-rusher [Mack] for $23 million a year Womens Antonio Brown Jersey , but now you are paying $27 million a year for a safety and a tackle who could not start in San Francisco two years ago.”These are all valid criticisms. Especially those with regard to Khalil Mack. There’s very little defense (so to speak) for making such a move.That being said, at least one exec sees a method to the madness.”They are paying a bunch of offensive guys and it is not a terrible strategy,” an exec said. “They are saying they will draft on defense and have guys for four years. Most of these big-time players getting cut are defensive guys, which I think played into their thinking on Mack. There is some evidence to support it and that is how they are building their team.”Trent Brown’s deal in particular shifts much of his money to his second year, which is great for him, but could be potentially bad for the Raiders because if he stumbles out the gates, they are stuck with him for at least two years. ”One thing they did was structure contracts to have big bucks in Year 2, for when they are in Vegas,” an exec said. “That is good for players, too, because there is no state income tax in Nevada.”Now, I know how this goes. Those of you who would be angry at these executives’ criticism will bitch that they should put their name on it. The fact of the matter is, if you want honesty — actual honesty — you get it with anonymity. That’s how journalism works. Otherwise you’re just a publicist. Follow @LeviDamien