The Oakland raiders are heading into another offseason without the playoffs and the team has a number of questions that need to be answered for the 2014 season, including whether Dennis Allen will return and who the team will draft with their first round pick and two Texas A&M players could be on the list, with quarterback Johnny Manziel and wideout Mike Evans expected to be taken among the first 32.
Allen is meeting with ownership next week and Mark Davis could make a final decision on whether to keep him or not after two straight 4-12 seasons, while general manager Reggie McKenzie seems to be safe for the time being. McKenzie will start working more on the draft now that the season is over and while the Raiders have holes on both sides of the ball, most expect the team to go with offense for their first pick after their struggles this season and the fact that they took a defensive player last season with the pick in DJ Hayden. There is a chance that Manziel could be off the board at number five with the Texans, Jaguars and Browns picking ahead of them, but the decision on taking a quarterback rests on what the team decides on doing with Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin heading into next season.
Both McGloin and Pryor showed flashes during the season, but both were too inconsistent and now there is a good chance that the current quarterback for the team is not yet on the roster. According to ESPN.com, the Raiders signed Trent Edwards this week and the veteran quarterback will likely be competition for whoever the team brings into camp and with the offensive side of the ball also losing Darren McFadden, Mike Evans could be an interesting option as well.
ESPN.com is reporting that Evans has declared for the draft on Thursday after playing in their bowl game, which was an exciting comeback win for Manziel and the Aggies over Duke, leaving behind two years of eligibility to head into the 2014 draft. Evans is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound receiver that should command some attention at the top of the draft after the way he has played this season and the past two years, as he was a finalist for the top award for wide receivers in college football and he was tops on the team with 12 touchdowns and 1,394 yards to go along with 69 receptions and this comes after he played his best in the big games, catching 18 passes for 566 yards and five scores against Alabama and Auburn. Last season he had 82 catches for over 1,000 yards and now Evans and Manziel are expected to be at least top 15 picks, with Manziel likely coming in the top 10.