After another disappointing season, the Oakland Raiders will have the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. While the wins were not present, after a very successful draft last year, the Raiders have some nice young pieces to build their team around.
Linebacker Khalil Mack (last year’s first round pick) had an impressive rookie debut, and looks to be a strong piece for the Raiders to build their defense around. In the second round of the 2014 draft, the Raiders hope that they found their quarterback of the future when they selected Derek Carr out of Fresno State.
Carr completed 58.1% of his passes for 3,270 yards and a 21 to 12 TD/INT ratio in his rookie campaign. Carr showed impressive moxy and leadership abilities throughout the season, to go along with his incredible arm strength.
While there are some clear holes on the roster, it will be tough to predict which way the Raiders will go in the upcoming draft until they name a head coach. Will interim coach Tony Sparano return? If he does, does he change the team philosophy? If not Sparano, then who; and what would that coach want done to the roster to fit his style?
All questions that are impossible to answer at the moment, but that does not mean that the roster needs are unidentifiable. While one could argue that the Raiders have a nice young nucleus to build their team around, there are still plenty of positions that could clearly use upgrades. The Raiders need to use this draft to fill those needs and build depth throughout the roster.
Here are the Raiders’ five biggest position needs in the 2015 NFL Draft.
5. Safety
While he is still fairly productive, Charles Woodson is clearly in the very late stages of his career. The Raiders cannot count on him to be a hugely productive option going forward at the safety position.
Brandian Ross showed some nice upside filling in for the injured Tyvon Branch this season, but the team still clearly lacks depth at safety. Ross figures to be a solid starting option going forward, but the rest of the position is filled with question marks.
Possible Targets: Landon Collins- Alabama, Gerod Holliman- Louisville, Cody Prewitt- Ole Miss, Anthony Harris- Virginia, Kurtis Drummond- Michigan State, Derron Smith- Fresno State and Adrian Amos- Penn State.
4. Middle Linebacker
In Mack and Sio Moore, the Raiders have a nice, young duo of outside linebackers. Unfortunately, they severely lack a man in the middle. After an early season injury to Nick Roach, the Raiders relied upon Miles Burris at the middle linebacker position. To say that Burris was a disappointment would be a huge understatement.
Burris was picked apart all season long in pass coverage, and lacks the strength inside to take on blockers in the run game. He simply cannot be the answer for the Raiders going forward. If he can recover from a scary head injury, the veteran Roach could be a short-term answer, but the Raiders would be foolish to count on him. Regardless of the health of Roach, the Raiders must find a long term solution at middle linebacker.
Possible Targets: Benardrick McKinney- Mississippi State, Eric Kendricks- UCLA, Denzel Perryman- Miami (FL), Trey DePreist- Alabama, Ben Heeney- Kansas, Jake Ryan- Michigan, Mike Hull- Penn State, Stephone Anthony- Clemson, A.J. Johnson- Tennessee, Ramik Wilson- Georgia, Zach Vigil- Utah State, Frank Shannon- Oklahoma and Bryce Hager- Baylor.
3. Cornerback
The cornerback position has been a huge position of need for the Raiders for years. Former first round pick D.J. Hayden and costless agent addition Carlos Rogers have not lived up to their potential, and it has held the entire Raiders’ defense back.
Youngsters T.J. Carrie and Keith McGill have shown some nice upside, but they are far from proven. The Raiders must continue to try and find a shutdown corner option because their current options are unlikely to get the job done.
Possible Targets: Trae Waynes- Michigan State, P.J. Williams- Florida State, Marcus Peters- Washington, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu- Oregon, Alex Carter- Stanford, Jalen Collins- LSU, Ronald Darby- Florida State, Senquez Golson- Ole Miss, Doran Grant- Ohio State, Kevin Johnson- Wake Forest, Charles Gaines- Louisville, Lorenzo Doss- Tulane, Kevin White- TCU, Quandre Diggs- Texas, Eric Rowe- Utah and Deshazer Everett- Texas A&M.
2. Wide Receiver
The Raiders appear comfortable moving forward with Carr as their quarterback. In order for him to be successful, they simply need to give him better receiving options. In James Jones, Andre Holmes, Rod Streater and Kenbrell Thompkins, the Raiders actually have decent depth at the position, but they clearly lack a strong number one option.
Selecting Amari Cooper or even DeVante Parker with the fourth overall pick seems possible, but if the Raiders decide to go in a different direction in the first round; they should look to swing for the fences on a potential featured wide receiver later in the draft.
Possible Targets: Amari Cooper- Alabama, DeVante Parker- Louisville, Dorial Green-Beckham- Missouri, Kevin White- West Viriginia, Devin Fuchess- Michigan, Jaelen Strong- Arizona State, Josh Harper- Fresno State, Nelson Agholor- USC, Tony Lippett- Michigan State, Stefon Diggs- Maryland, Austin Hill- Arizona, Vince Mayle- Virginia, Titus Davis- Central Michigan, Quinshad Davis- North Carolina and Deontay Greenberry- Houston.
1. Pass Rushing Defensive End
While they do have a couple of good pass rushing linebackers in Moore and especially Mack, the Raiders lack players who can consistently put pressure on the quarterback up front. With only 21 sacks during the 2014 season, it is clear that the Raiders need to improve in that department. In today’s NFL, nothing is more important for a defense than being able to get pressure with only four pass rushers.
Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley are solid options up front, but their best days are likely behind them. In order to be able to hope to stop the powerful offenses throughout the NFL, the Raiders simply must begin to improve their pass rush up front. It starts with this draft class as they need to look to add impact pass rushers throughout.
Possible Targets: Leonard Williams- USC, Randy Gregory- Nebraska, Shane Ray- Missouri, Dante Fowler Jr.- Florida, Vic Beasley- Clemson, Lorenzo Mauldin- Louisville, Hau’oli Kikaha- Washington, Alvin Dupree- Kentucky, Shilique Calhoun- Michigan State, Danielle Hunter- LSU, Nate Orchard- Utah, Eric Striker- Oklahoma, Eli Harold- Virginia, Shaquille Riddick- West Virginia, Trey Flowers- Arkansas, Devonte Fields- TCU, Za’Darius Smith- Kentucky, Owamagbe Odighizuwa- UCLA, Markus Golden- Missouri and Silverberry Mouhon- Cincinnati.