The Oakland Raiders have a top four pick in the draft and if the team doesn't trade down with the Dolphins or Rams, the team could look at Amari Cooper and Kevin White as draft targets and if they do move down, names like DeVante Parker or Todd Gurley could be options for Reggie McKenzie to add to the offense for Derek Carr.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Dolphins are looking at moving up in the draft and the Raiders could be a potential trade partner. The Raiders could consider moving down if the Jaguars take Cooper, as they could get a player like White or Parker in the middle of the first round. The team reportedly will consider trading down, as Bill Williamson reports, Reggie McKenzie thinks this is a "deep class" and there is not a major drop off between the top five and the top 10 this time around.
The team could consider players like Dante Fowler or Leonard Williams if they drop to four, but most draft experts see the Raiders going with an offensive player. The team has Latavius Murray and Trent Richardson along with Roy Helu, but they could be tempted to take Gurley or Melvin Gordon at their pick if they trade down. Both Cooper and White are considered to be top picks and the Raiders likely would be happy getting one of those receivers.
This offseason the Raiders came in with a ton of cap space and while they didn't sign Ndamukong Suh, Greg Hardy, Jeremy Maclin, Julius Thomas, Randall Cobb or Jason Pierre-Paul, they should be able to make up for that in the draft. The team was mentioned as an option for Adrian Peterson, but that is looking unlikely and now the team will try and add some potential playmakers for Derek Carr.
The Raiders are coming off of another losing season and they have Del Rio taking over as head coach after Dennis Allen was fired and Tony Sparano was not hired. According to ESPN.com, owner Mark Davis wanted to bring in someone who could be there for the long term and it followed a strong run as defensive coordinator for the Broncos for Del Rio. This offseason Reggie McKenzie has the chance to have a big for the Raiders and the team could trade down and get some extra selections.
Last year the team was very active in free agency, but they did not give out too many back breaking deals. The team let Jared Veldheer and Lamarr Houston go, but they signed LaMarr Woodley, Justin Tuck and James Jones to deals. The cap did not get out of control despite the fact the team had the most space of anyone last year and now they have a deep draft class to look at this year. Carr needs playmakers on offense and the defense also needs some major upgrades after ranking in the bottom half of the league in yards per game.
Adrian Peterson is a trade option, but the team likely does not want to give up major draft compensation for him. The Cowboys were also mentioned as a landing spot and while the Raiders have cap space, it's looking like AP will remain in Minnesota unless something drastic happens during the draft.
