The Oakland Raiders are leaving no stone unturned before the NFL draft, as they are hosting Blake Bortles and have already met with Johnny Manziel, while Reggie McKenzie still has the option of trading Matt McGloin or Terrelle Pryor to a team like the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans or Buffalo Bills and that could come before the draft in May as a way to add more picks for head coach Dennis Allen.
The Raiders are coming into the season with high expectations despite going 4-12 over the past two years, as they have signed a high number of free agents and appear to be turning things around after a couple years of decline. The team has systematically broken down their salary cap over the past two seasons and that gave them cap space this offseason and that enabled McKenzie to add a ton of players, including Justin Tuck, Austin Howard, Maurice Jones-Drew and James Jones.
The team also traded for Matt Schaub this offseason and while he has already been named the starter, the Raiders have been preparing for the draft on all fronts and they have met with Johnny Manziel and now with Blake Bortles as well. According to Pro Football Talk, Bortles is visiting with the team after they met with Manziel, as they are hosting him since they have the number five pick in the draft. While many think the Raiders will avoid a QB early on because of the Schaub trade, which could change if they like Bortles.
Among the top three quarterbacks, at least one is expected to go in the top five and it could be two depending on what the Texans and Cleveland Browns do. The Raiders are hoping to snag Jadeveon Clowney or Sammy Watkins and if those players are gone, they could trade down instead of making a pick there. Bortles is an interesting option, since many think he is a project and he could easily slide behind Schaub instead of Terrelle Pryor or Matt McGloin. The Raiders may look to trade one of those names, as they have just six picks in the draft coming up and they could get another selection or two in those deals.
Bortles broke out with over 3,000 yards passing and 25 touchdowns last season and he is considered the player with the highest upside among Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel. Bortles has the prototypical size for the position in the NFL and while he is rawer than the other two, he has been compared to Ben Roethlisberger. The Raiders could look to take him or trade down from that pick and while many see him as a top five option, he could slip down.
McGloin has been solid for the Raiders and Pryor has requested a trade and that could open things up for the team in the draft if they make a move with those players. The draft is deep this season at the position and that means McKenzie could wait until one of the later rounds to draft a QB to develop behind Schaub.
