The 2019-2020 College Football Season is over, and that means it’s officially time to start preparing for the NFL Draft. With the Senior Bowl coming up in less than a week, the Raiders will begin to evaluate and narrow down their potential picks in the first round.
The Raiders have two significant needs on their roster. They desperately need a No. 1 wide receiver and a rangy linebacker in the middle of their defense. Luckily for the Raiders, there is some depth at those two positions.
In Dane Brugler’s latest mock draft at The Athletic, he gave the Raiders two Oklahoma Sooners at their biggest positions of need. Take a look at what Brugler had to say about wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Kenneth Murray:
The Pick: Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb – In a wide receiver-rich class, the playmaker-needy Raiders could be sitting at No. 12 with their choice of all of them. Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock could just as easily fall in love with Jerry Jeudy or a different wideout, but Lamb’s ball skills and football instincts will be attractive.
The Pick: Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray – The Raiders make it an all-Sooners first round in this scenario, landing a playmaker on offense in Lamb and defense in Murray. Although he must improve his strike zone and add a dash more discipline to his playing style, Murray shows the field speed and competitive make-up that could see him drafted this high.
Lamb is arguably the best receiver in this class as he has all of the traits to be a No. 1 receiver in the league. While he’s not a burner, he is difficult to bring down after the catch, and he has an insane catch radius.
Murray might not be a polished linebacker, but he has all the athleticism in the world to lean on. He would make a perfect weakside linebacker in today’s NFL with his ability to run from sideline to sideline.
We know how much Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden value players from big-time schools, and we saw them double up on players from specific programs last year. Don’t be surprised if they do something similar this year with their two first-round picks.
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