AP photo: Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree reaches for a pass at the Raiders mini camp on Wednesday June 15, 2016

On the Raiders podcast with J Hawkes, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio since he took over the team last season you saw the improvement this club has taken on and now the talk is that the Raiders are ready to be a playoff contender. They are expected to be better than a .500 club with all the improvements that they’ve made. The Raiders have the largest offensive front line in the NFL and have a run game that Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has confidence in that can get them places.

There are numerous players in the league who would love to play for this Raiders offense and like what Michael Crabtree and the offense has done. Jihad Ward whose a second round draft pick brings a lot of speed on the offense and being a second round pick that catches the attention of Del Rio and he looks forward to getting Ward some looks into the offense.

Joe Hawkes Beamon talks Raiders football on the weekly podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com