The Oakland Raiders made an effort to load up on defensive talent in the offseason. They signed several veterans looking to make one final push for a championship before they are forced to call it quits. That could be an excellent plan that does work out or it could back fire with injuries. Just ask the Atlanta Falcons. As a result, the Raiders are looking for young talent to backup players in the draft and Khalil Mack could be that guy.
The Raiders are armed with the No. 5 pick. General manager has ruled out several options with just hours before the first round. The team is not trading up to get Jadeveon Clowney. They are not likely in the running for Sammy Watkins. McKenzie has no desire to draft a quarterback in the first round after acquiring Matt Schaub in the offseason. That leaves the likely target being Khalil Mack.
The Raiders lost one of their best defensive stars in the offseason. LaMarr Houston opted to sign with the Chicago Bears instead of staying with Oakland. The Raiders did not offer him a new deal despite having plenty of cap space to give the defensive lineman a favorable new deal. Instead, Oakland signed veteran Justin Tuck to a smaller contract. Replacing Houston has yet to be done and he leaves a big 300-pound hole on the roster. He had 69 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles for Oakland.
According to Omar Ruiz of NFL .com, the Raiders believe Mack could be the best option at replacing the talent of Houston. If the former Buffalo star is still available at No. 5 Oakland is a possible landing spot. Mack is not as big as Houston, but he is extremely athletic and has the ability to move around while still being a solid pass rusher for the Raiders. The issue for the Raiders will be if he is still available. Oakland does not intend on moving up at all from No. 5 so they run the risk of Mack being off the board to either the St. Louis Rams or Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Raiders will also have to decide just how committed they are to passing up on certain stars. McKenzie says the team will not draft a quarterback, but if Manziel happens to fall to No. 5, do they pass up on him? What if Watkins or Mike Evans are on the board? Having an early pick can be such a burden in the best way possible.
