While we are still three months away from the 2019 NFL Draft, one thing seems fairly clear; the Raiders are likely taking a wide receiver at pick No. 12. With two elite prospects in CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy expected to go around that range, it seems unlikely the Raiders will leave the draft without one of those two superstars.
What may be more intriguing is what the team does with their second first-round pick at No. 19. The Raiders need to get younger and faster at linebacker and there are two linebacker prospects in that draft that could help fill that need; LSU’s Patrick Queen and Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray.
Murray was insanely productive over the last two years at Oklahoma, tallying 257 tackles, 29.5 tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks. He’s a rangy player who has the ability to run from sideline to sideline with ease. However, in Lance Zierlein’s first mock draft at NFL.com, he has the Raiders taking Queen over Murray.
While Murray may be the more polished player, Queen is probably the better athlete. There is a chance that he runs in the 4.4s at the NFL Combine and it’s rare to find players of his size and speed. Queen really came on at the end of the season for LSU as he tallied 16 tackles and four tackles for a loss in the team’s two playoff games. Queen might not be the better player right now, but it’s hard to ignore his potential upside as he is clearly an ascending talent.
Over the next three months, pay close attention to these two players to see if one can separate themselves from the other. It’s very likely that one of these two linebackers ends up wearing the Siver and Black in 2020.
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