Raiders coach Jack Del Rio spoke with reporters Tuesday morning for nearly an hour at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. Here is Part I of a transcription taken off audio provided by the NFL:



Q: Any positions that you’re eyeing?

Del Rio: I think we really look at our roster and say throughout our roster we can improve ourselves. We can coach ’em better, we need to add some talent, make it a little more competitive, but we feel like what we’ve done throughout this offseason we have fortified ourselves, that we did strengthen ourselves, in particular up the middle in our defense, with the D-tackle, actually another D-tackle that we’re close with coming back. A couple of linebackers, a safety. We got started up the middle. And offensively, getting the center, getting Hudson, it helped us a great deal, it weakened a division rival. I feel like we had a good, solid offseason. It wasn’t the sexy, get the name receiver that everybody is clamoring for. That’s not what it was. But was an effective, kind of methodical approach to going out and filling some needs and addressing some of the issues we felt we had with our roster.

Q: Projecting starting guards?

Del Rio: The great thing about it is you don’t have to project your starting lineups at this time of year. We know Gabe held down the left side and played very well last year as a rookie. At this point there’s going to be competition for the right guard spot.

Q: Can you see Khalif Barnes? He’s played almost every spot? Competing on inside, where do you see him fitting in?

Del Rio: They’re all going to compete, so we’re going to play the best five. Whoever that might be. That’s like to be a very competitive situation in camp. I like Khalif more as a guy that has the ability to be a utility guy, but if he ends up being the fifth best option, then so be it. If he earns it, then we’re certainly not going to stand in his way and have the best people on the field.

Q: As guy who grew up in Oakland area, what’s your vision of the franchise . ..

Del Rio: The biggest thing for me, I grew up there when that was a great organization. Really it’s been a little bit of a while now, we want to bring the franchise back to greatness. We want to re-establish ourselves as one of the premiere franchises in the league. It has a great tradition and we want to live up to that. We feel like we have great fans, we feel like we have real passionate fans, and I was at dinner last night with Howie Long. He’s a great former Raider, and remains a Raider, but a Hall of Fame Raider, and we want guys like that to be real proud of what we’re doing.

Q: Thoughts of moving Khalil Mack to defensive end or is he a linebacker?

Del Rio: He plays defensive end already for us in sub packages. I think it’s be natural for him to be able to play whatever we decide is best for him, how it helps the team best. He’s going to play, last year I think, the number of sub snaps in the league has gone up each year. I think we’re up close to 70 percent of your snaps now you’re facing three or four receiver sets and so a sub package where Khalil is an end is really the most prominent. He definitely has shown me has the ability to be an edge rusher, a defensive end, and he is that in that capacity. I feel like it’s whatever we, how we best want to utilize him and who we have around him.

Q: How high can Derek Carr reach in 2015?

Del Rio: Well, I think what I’m most excited about is he’s getting in and not making it so much about Derek. I thought it was all about Derek last year. We want to be able to run the ball. We want to play good defense. We want to do the things that are necessary to help us be a good football team. I think as we do some of those things around him, he has a chance to really flourish. He’s a real accurate guy. Move the chains for us. Take some of those shots down the field, distribute the ball. I think Derek has a huge upside. We’re excited about getting to work with him. One thing about Derek, he’s a tenacious worker. From what I’ve gathered in the building, just watching him, he’s coming through now, working on things on his own, doing things on his own, just wants to get started. Of course, we’re limited to what we can do because of the CBA, but he’s pushing to do everything possible right now. I’m excited to get my hands on him. But he’s a guy who’s shown he’s got a real quick stroke. He’s accurate. He’s bright. He did some of the things that we’re going to want to do, that Bill Musgrave brings with us. He did some of those things at Fresno. We’re looking forward to getting going with him. I think he’s got a big upside.

Q: What do you see in Trent Richardson that the Browns missed?

Del Rio: I think they did see it. I mean, I think if you go back, a pretty high pick, and then a pretty significant trade. I think both teams did see talent. I don’t think there’s any disputing that the young man has talent. What I saw, when we brought him and talked to him, was young man that was hungry to kind of leave that portion of his career behind him and start fresh. My challenge to him was, look, I don’t want you to worry about anything other than coming in here and competing your butt off every day. Come in here and be a great teammate, come in here and find a role on special teams. Come in here and just grind every day with the hunger, like you had as a freshman at Alabama. He’s got to compete for everything he gets. He knows that. I laid that out there for him from the start. I really believe that if he can recapture that, he has a chance to maximize that potential and that potential’s great. But why worry about what it might turn in to? Let’s just work day to day, being a great teammate, being unselfish, working your tail off every day, see where it takes you.

Q: Wide open at running back then?

Del Rio: I think it will be a competitive situation, yeah.

Q: What is role you envision for Roy Helu? Third down back?

Del Rio: That’s the role he was in at Washington. He has aspirations of doing more. Again, we’ll let these guys compete for their roles. I think having some solid depth, having guys in there that have done it, that can step up in protection, that are reliable targets getting out of the backfield on third down. Those are important qualities. Adding the ability to cover kicks and do things on special teams, that’s important. Not everybody can be the guy who scores a touchdown. We have other things that have to be done. We’re going to ask our guys to be unselfish, to play hard, play together, so those are, we just talkeda bout there good players that will have a chance to get in and compete for their roles and create opportunities for themselves to be heavily involved.

Q: NFL talking about re-writing rule book, how thick it is, how difficult to absorb everything, ins, outs, exceptions. Would it help if it was simplified?

Del Rio: I think we have a great game If they can make, I think the job the officials do, they have a very difficult job. If we can make that job just a little bit easier by simplifying some of the rules, by clarifying some of the rules, I’m all for it. Again, I’m going to start with, I think we have a great game now, the way it is. If they feel there are opportunities to make it a little bit better, then it’s worth looking at.

Q: As D-coordinator have to know certain things, as head coach, all decisions have to make, have to study all rules . . .

Del Rio: I’ve always prided myself in being aware as possible of the various rules and various scenarios that come up during a game so that we can respond properly. I think the important thing is not that I understand it, but that we teach our players to have a situational awareness of the rules and how they apply so that we can play within the rules. We want to play hard and tough and physical and things, but we want to play within the rules so I think it’s important to understand how they’re being officiated and what you can and cannot do.

Q: Did you have are relationship with Reggie McKenzie and talk about how your personalities and philosophies mesh . . .

Del Rio: Only as players. We knew each other going way back, I think it was the Japan Bowl or something. The postseason bowl after our college careers. We’ve known each other for a long time. But in terms of philosophies, I think the one thing we both appreciate are big guys. We appreciate big me in the trenches. We believe in having a physical football team and I think that starts with the offensive and defensive line and so I think we both have a healthy respect for what the players go through, what the demands are, and how important it is to get good players. I think that’s where I’d start. He’s a really guy to get along with. We communicate, try to communicate daily. It’s a process that we’re going to work at. Any relationship, you’ve got to work at it, but he’s a good guy.