The Oakland Raiders have a top five pick once again in the draft this year and some mock drafts have names like Amari Cooper, Kevin White, Melvin Gordon, DeVante Parker and Shane Ray as potential options, while Brett Hundley could be another target and this comes as the team also may look at signing Michael Crabtree as a free agent.
The Raiders have Derek Carr coming back for year two and they feel that he is developing into a consistent starter and now he needs more offensive weapons. Jack Del Rio takes over as a defensive minded head coach and Reggie McKenzie has said that the team plans on focusing on offense in the draft and in free agency. The Raiders already signed Trent Richardson and Roy Helu, but they have some holes at wide receiver and could look there in the draft.
The Raiders have a number four pick and many draft experts have pointed at the wide receiver position as the target for the team, as this class is very deep and talented. Amari Cooper is considered to be one of the best players coming out, while Kevin White, DeVante Parker and Jaelen Strong also have been getting attention from scouts. Mel Kiper at ESPN and the newest mock draft on SI.com has Cooper going to the Raiders, while Bill Williamson at ESPN.com has suggested White as a potential pick.
White has blazing speed and ran a very good 40-yard dash at the combine and in the past the Raiders have prioritized speed. White had a strong season at West Virginia, putting up 109 catches for 1447 yards and 10 touchdowns and he also showed off a great vertical at the combine. White is slightly bigger than Cooper at 6-3, 215 pounds and that could be what pushes him ahead for the Raiders. Cooper also had a fantastic season for Alabama with 124 catches for 1727 yards and 16 touchdowns and he had a solid 40-time at the combine. Cooper is 6-1, 211 pounds and ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and if he is drafted he could be the number one receiver for Carr.
The team likes its depth at running back now, but they could look at someone like Melvin Gordon or Todd Gurley if they slip out of the first couple rounds. The Raiders have a number of questions on both sides of the ball heading into the offseason and they have Carr as their QB of the future and they hope he continues developing this season. The team has Jack Del Rio taking over as head coach and he wants to bring the team back to the old days when they challenged for the playoffs.
The Raiders feel that they finally have a long term solution at quarterback with Derek Carr and now Reggie McKenzie needs to find a way to give him some weapons. Last year James Jones and Andre Holmes stepped up, but the team needs more than that for Carr and that makes Cooper and White attractive targets. After the way Odell Beckham came in and made an immediate impact for the Giants last season, teams will be looking for receivers with talent like that and both Cooper and White have that potential.
