The Oakland Raiders are heading into the 2014 season with some high expectations and with the draft coming up, GM Reggie McKenzie has the chance to make a splash and trade with a team like the New England Patriots or San Francisco 49ers, as they could move up to draft Johnny Manziel and that would enable the Raiders to snag a QB like Tom Savage, Aaron Murray or David Carr later in the draft.
The Raiders have been meeting with all different types of players, as they have the number five pick in the draft and there are many possibilities about what they could do with that pick. The team traded for a quarterback in the second straight year, dealing for Matt Schaub from the Texans last year after doing it with Matt Flynn and the Seahawks last season and that means they could avoid a QB at number five. Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater are considered to be the top three players at their position, while names like Sammy Watkins, Greg Robinson and Jadeveon Clowney are also in the mix in the top five.
The Raiders traded out of their top five pick last season and ended up getting the player they wanted all along in DJ Hayden and now they could try and pull a move like that again. The team has just six draft picks heading into the event this year and adding another one or two of those in a deal would be huge for McKenzie as he tries to fill a number of holes on the team.
According to ESPN.com, the Raiders have brought in Tom Savage for a visit and he could be in the mix as well later in the draft. The Pitt Panthers QB had a solid season in 2013 and he could be a late round pick and he has the size for the NFL, as he is 6-feet-4, 228 pounds and passed for 2,958 yards with 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season while completing over 60 percent of his passes.
Both the 49ers and Patriots come from the same school of thought when it comes to hoarding draft picks and they each have a stable of picks that they can work with this year, including in trades. The Patriots have made a move in the draft nearly every season that Bill Belichick has been there, while the Niners have mostly done the same before and after the event each year with Jim Harbaugh, including when they moved up to take Colin Kaepernick a few years ago and last season when they moved up to get Eric Reid.
While moving up to take Manziel is a whole other type of prospect, it is a situation that the stable of draft picks are meant for. While the Niners and Patriots likely won't be making this move, it's at least within the realm of possibility because of how many picks they have and if either Belichick or Harbaugh sees Manziel as a player they can't live without, don't be surprised if either team at least attempts the shocking move up in the draft, especially if the QB starts to drop ala Aaron Rodgers or Brady Quinn.