Depending on who you ask, the draft possibilities are all over the map for the top 11 picks ahead of the Raiders pick at 12. Last week Ian Rapoport said he wouldn’t be shocked if the top ten wasn’t made up almost entirely of quarterbacks and offensive linemen. That scenario would be great news for the Raiders who figure to be looking at wide receiver above all other positions with that top pick.
The consensus top two wide receivers in this draft are Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy. Most people seem split on who they think the Raiders would prefer, which basically means they’d probably be content with either one, should the other be off the board.
Daniel Jeremiah had a conference call with media on Thursday in which he thinks there’s a real possibility that both Lamb AND Jeudy could be gone.
“I am fascinated to see what happens in front of them,” Jeremiah said of the Raiders, noting that the receiver run could start with the Jets at pick 11, but may start earlier.
“I think when it’s all said and done, I would not be shocked at all to see Jacksonville trade out of 9,” He continued. “I know there’s been some conversations from other teams I’ve talked to that say they think that’s a possibility. So you could see teams either trading up for a tackle there or a wide receiver at No. 9.
“You could see the Jets go with one at 11 if they don’t like their tackle situation. So they might end up getting their third choice at that point in time, and then they would have to judge would we rather have the third receiver for them, which let’s say it’s [Henry] Ruggs, or would you rather take a corner in CJ Henderson who to me is clearly the second corner? Some teams think he’s right up there with [Jeff] Okudah. That would be a decision to make, do you take CJ Henderson first, shore up the corner position, and know at 19 you’re still probably going to be looking at one of those top-five receivers. Who that may be would be interesting. That wouldn’t shock me at all if we had the positions right, but if they flipped it and they ended up going with a corner first and came back with a receiver at pick No. 19.”
It’s a question worth asking. In fact it was a question I parsed last week.
Every team must ask themselves if it’s worth it to them to reach at their top need position or to take a better prospect at another position. With the Raiders having another pick seven picks later, they may still be able to get the next best receiver on their board.
What it comes down do is either the Raiders will have to pray Lamb or Jeudy is still there when they pick, consider jumping ahead of the Jets to ensure they get one of them, or turn to another position at 12.
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