Jon Gruden: Bears' success doesn't change view of Khalil Mack trade

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INDIANAPOLIS — The Bears’ success with Khalil Mack didn’t change how Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden views his decision to trade the All-Pro edge rusher last year, even though the first of the two first-round picks he received back has less value than perhaps he expected. 
 
By virtue of the Bears’ 12-4 record — fueled in large part by the Labor Day weekend trade for Mack — the Raiders acquired the 24th pick in the 2019 draft. Prior to this year, the Bears’ last five first-round picks were eighth, third, 11th, seventh, and 14th. The last time their first pick was in the back half of round was 2013. 
 
So the Raiders can be forgiven, to an extent, for assuming the Bears would continue to be among the league’s worst teams and net them at least one, maybe two top-half selections. That, of course, didn’t occur. 
 
“We have no control over what happens, really, other than what we do with pick,” Gruden said Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. 
 
Mack, meanwhile, finished with 12 1/2 sacks and six forced fumbles — one half-sack fewer and one forced fumble more than the entire Raiders team had in 2018. The optics of the Mack trade seemed to get worse and worse for the Raiders — he’s the kind of guy worthy of signing the largest contract in league history for a defensive player, not the kind of guy a franchise trades away. 
 
Adding more insult to the deal from the Raiders side: San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch insisted back in November that his team had a better offer than the one the Bears put forward for Mack. 
 
"I don't want to beat a dead horse, but we tried like heck to acquire Khalil Mack," Lynch said on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game. "But it didn't work out. But, you try by any means necessary to get it but it's not easy. Guys that are free, they never become free because they're so coveted in this league. They're franchise (tagged) typically or they work out a new deal."
 
Lynch figured the Raiders didn’t want to deal with the optics of Mack terrorizing quarterbacks on the other side of the Bay. The Raiders, though, are moving to Las Vegas in 2020, and had the 49ers’ have the second pick in the 2019 draft (it probably would’ve been higher with Mack, but probably still in the top 10). 
 
Either way, the Bears are fortunate the Raiders chose them as the landing spot for Mack. It means the team doesn’t have much cap space or draft capital in 2019, but it does mean the team can move forward with one of the league’s best and most disruptive pass rushers on its roster. So if you’re bored with this offseason, or wondering what to do on the first night of the NFL Draft in April – maybe go watch some Mack highlights on YouTube. 

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