The Oakland Raiders have a top five pick in the 2015 NFL draft and names like Amari Cooper, Kevin White, Dante Fowler, Randy Gregory and Vic Beasley have been mentioned as targets for the team and this comes after the team signed Trent Richardson and Roy Helu to join Latavius Murray and they will battle to start this season for quarterback Derek Carr.
The Raiders have a new head coach in Jack Del Rio and they are looking for improvement after winning just three games in 2014. Derek Carr had a solid rookie season and now the Raiders have the chance to give him a strong offensive weapon in the draft. According to Bill Williamson at ESPN.com, the Raiders are looking at Amari Cooper and Kevin White as potential draft options on offense, while names like Dante Fowler, Leonard Williams and Randy Gregory are defensive options.
The first three picks obviously will dictate what the Raiders do and at number four they should be set up well to get an impact player. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to take Jameis Winston number one overall and if Marcus Mariota goes at number two to the Titans or another team, the Raiders are guaranteed to get a player they want. The Jaguars and Titans are rumored to be interested in Leonard Williams and Fowler, while Cooper also could be an option.
According to Pro Football Talk, if the Titans do not trade the number two overall pick, they will go with Leonard Williams from USC. Most scouts see Williams as the top defensive player in the draft and if he goes at number two, the Raiders will likely react to what the Jaguars do at three. Dante Fowler from Florida spoke with the Florida Times-Union and he said he would be "shocked" if the Jaguars pass on him at number three.
While that is no guarantee of anything, if the Jaguars go with Fowler and Williams is already off the board, expect the Raiders to take Cooper or White. The wide receiver position is deep in the 2015 class this year and that could mean the Raiders wait to get a player maker later on, but if they like Cooper as a number one receiver, Williamson writes they will go after him. Cooper had a huge season at Alabama with 124 catches for 1727 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.
The Raiders may also look at running backs in the draft this offseason despite signing Trent Richardson and Roy Helu, as the class is talented and deep this year. Names like Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon are at the top of the class, but players like Duke Johnson, Ameer Abdullah and Tevin Coleman also could be impact players.
The Raiders have Richardson in on a deal and he could be the starter if he performs well in training camp. The team also has Latavius Murray and he showed some bright spots last season and could get the chance to be the number one back for Carr. The Raiders also added Helu in free agency and he will be more of a third down back and a receiver out of the backfield.