The Oakland Raiders have the No. 4 draft pick and no need to grab a quarterback this year. The potential Derek Carr showed in his rookie season has afforded the Raiders some flexibility heading into the NFL Draft and general manager Reggie McKenzie is open to the possibilities that brings. With the first round just days away, McKenzie confirmed there is a lot of interests in the draft pick the Raiders own. Could Oakland be preparing to move down the boards for more picks in later rounds?
With several teams battling for Marcus Mariota and potentially a top wide receiver, the Raiders are getting a lot of interest in their No. 4 pick. McKenzie made it clear that he is very open to answering the phones on draft day, but only if the deal is very beneficial for the Raiders in the long run.
"My phone line is always open," McKenzie said, per CSN Bay Area. "You hear everybody out. If it makes sense and it's going to help the Raiders, we'll do a deal."
There is certainly on guarantee that a deal gets done and there is no guarantee that the Raiders are openly seeking a trade down. McKenzie is simply saying what most general managers say heading into the draft and that is that they open to making the move that most benefits the team. Trading down could garner the Raiders more picks in later rounds. The team has drafted well over the past two seasons and could find quality talent hiding in the third and fourth rounds respectively.
There are teams looking to move up. The New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears are all eyeing jumps up the boards to either try and acquire Mariota or Amari Cooper at the No. 4 spot. The Raiders have been mostly linked to Cooper heading into the draft, but according to CSNBayArea.com, Oakland did not get a visit with the former Alabama wide receiver. That could mean the team likes the idea of moving down and then drafting someone like Kevin White or DeVante Parker instead.
The Raiders have also been linked to a deal for Adrian Peterson, but head coach Jack Del Rio told the media via OaklandRaiders.com that he has confidence in Trent Richardson and Latavius Murray battling to start. Plus the Raiders appear to favor acquiring more draft picks rather than dealing for an aging veteran.
