Forgive the Christmas pun, but Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has been waiting to unwrap defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. for four months. Edwards has been out since the preseason with a hip injury, and he will play Saturday against the Colts after being activated to the roster Friday.

“He’s an important player for us,” McKenzie told The Chronicle. “Make no bones about it, he is a stud. He jumps out on tape when you watch him, and we really missed him.”

Oakland’s defense has come on of late, giving up 324 yards per game since Week 7 and only 10 fourth-quarter points in the past five games. Now the 11-3 team adds a run-stopper who can play inside and outside on the front line. Edwards had 41 tackles and two sacks in 10 starts as a rookie last year.

Edwards’ return caps a great week for the Raiders, who clinched their first playoff berth in 14 years Sunday in San Diego. The Chronicle chatted with McKenzie, one of the favorites to win the NFL’s Executive of the Year award, about getting to the promised land after an 11-37 record his first three years.

“It’s been a long time coming,” McKenzie said. “It was a hard road, especially for the longtime fans who were used to going to the playoffs all the time.”

Sunday’s clinching win over the Chargers was even more thrilling considering that the team came from behind to win in the fourth quarter for the seventh time this season.

“It was fun,” McKenzie said, “especially in the locker room afterward. There was a real thirst to win, especially after we heard before the game that the Chiefs lost and we could get control of the division again.”

The possibilities — like being able to clinch a first-round bye and home playoff game with a win Saturday over the Colts and a Chiefs loss Sunday — are very exciting to McKenzie.

“The chance to have a home playoff game in front of the RaiderNation … that’s special,” McKenzie said.

It was also special when the Raiders had seven Pro Bowl selections Tuesday night — the most in the NFL, and the most for the team since 1991. Two of those players, guard Kelechi Osemele and safety Reggie Nelson, were free agents whom McKenzie signed this season, two were free agents whom he signed in 2014 and 2015 (tackle Donald Penn and center Rodney Hudson), and three were McKenzie draft picks (defensive end Khalil Mack, quarterback Derek Carr and receiver Amari Cooper).

The accumulation of talent (including his eye for undrafted players), plus bringing the Raiders out of salary-cap hell five years ago, is what makes McKenzie a front-runner for the league’s top executive award.

The turning point was that 2014 draft class of Mack, Carr and third-round pick Gabe Jackson, but McKenzie said there was more to the 3-13 season that fall that triggered the resurrection.

“The leadership we brought in really helped,” McKenzie said. “The Justin Tucks, even the Matt Schaubs, bringing in Donald Penn to help groom Gabe. Then we added a couple of key guys that weren’t drafted, like Seth Roberts and Denico Autry.

“Finally, we started 0-10 but finished 3-3. We showed fight. We knew we had the right guys.”

Unlike the first three years of McKenzie’s regime, when he had to dump players for cap reasons, the Raiders have had some depth this year. Oakland has continued to win games despite injuries to Edwards, tight end Lee Smith, numerous offensive linemen, running back Latavius Murray, linebacker Perry Riley Jr., slot cornerback DJ Hayden and safety Karl Joseph.

“It’s nice to know that you can sleep at night now if a guy goes down,” McKenzie said. “Some of our young guys took some lumps early on, but that’s how you learn in this league.”

Still, no one expected the Raiders to be 11-3 and vying for home-field advantage. Well, almost no one, McKenzie said.

“We are not ahead of schedule,” he said. “Jack (head coach Jack Del Rio) and I talked about this last year, early last year, that we are going to get there sooner rather than later. This is not shocking. We expected this. We loved the guys we had in place and thought we had as good a chance as anybody in our division to get to the playoffs.

“The players bought in with Jack and the coaching staff, and that’s what it’s all about. The coaches make sure the players do their job and do it well, and the players trust their teachers. There’s great chemistry, and you can see that at practice every day.”

Briefly: To make room for Edwards on the active roster, the Raiders placed rookie linebacker Shilique Calhoun (knee) on injured reserve. … McKenzie was also excited for the seven Pro Bowl alternates picked, especially rookie running back and kick returner Jalen Richard. “To go from coming in for a tryout to making our team to this is very thrilling for the young man,” McKenzie said. “What a ride.” … There has been a lot of hand-wringing by national writers over the Raiders hitting the minimum salary-cap spending threshold, but McKenzie said players hitting their incentive bonuses will push the team’s spending higher.

Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vtafur@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VicTafur

Saturday’s game

Who: Colts (7-7) at Raiders (11-3)

When: 1:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46 / 95.7,98.5,102.9,1350

Colts (7-7) at Raiders (11-3)

When: 1:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46 / 95.7,98.5,102.9,1350

Spotlight on: Punters Marquette King and Pat McAfee - The two best punters in the AFC, with McAfee beating out King for the Pro Bowl spot, are also the most entertaining. King has danced after punts and played with a penalty flag, while McAfee is also very animated. “I love the hype and appreciation that he brought for punters,” McAfee said. “It’s good for punters. It’s great for my position. So I’m a big fan of Marquette King.”

Injuries: Raiders - S Karl Joseph (toe) and DT Stacy McGee (ankle) are out; DT Dan Williams (foot) is questionable. Colts - CB Rashaan Melvin (knee) is questionable.

The Big 3

Bombs away: The Colts have allowed the sixth-most completions of 20 yards or more (49). Which is actually good compared to the Raiders’ league-leading 54. Oakland also leads the NFL in 40-plus yard completions given up, with 14.

Big-play Colt: Did we mention that Indy WR T.Y. Hilton leads the league with 25 20-yard-plus catches and is five yards shy of leading the NFL in receiving?

Watch the tight end(s): The Colts went with a lot of two- and three-tight end sets in last week’s rout of Minnesota. The Raiders have enough trouble covering one.

— Vic Tafur