If you're an Oakland Raiders fan whose beer cup is half full, than you look at last season's emergence of second-round quarterback Derek Carr as the main positive takeaway from 2014. You see, he threw for 3,270 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and you think to yourself, "Wow, we finally have something to build around."
If you're an Oakland Raiders fan whose beer cup is half empty, you look at the team's dismal offense as a reason why Carr will never develop. You see that Oakland ranked dead last in yards per game (282.2) and second to last in points (15.8) and you think to yourself, "Wow, this kid doesn't stand a chance."
Whichever fan you are, you agree on one thing: the offense needs talent. To both help continue to build on what you already have and to prevent Carr from being a bust, you know that Oakland needs some playmakers. That's why the team is looking to the draft for an upgrade at the wide receiver position.
"The Raiders need to add weapons in the receiving corps to help second-year quarterback Derek Carr, and, to me, the choice comes down to [West Virginia's Kevin] White and Alabama's Amari Cooper," ESPN NFL Draft Insider Todd McShay wrote in his Mock Draft 3.0."Cooper is a more proven commodity who is as complete a receiver as you'll find coming out of college given his savvy as a route runner, but White offer more big-play ability. He had just 35 catches in 2013 after transferring from junior college, but he exploded in 2014 once he became comfortable in the offense, catching 109 passes for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has great size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and ball skills, and his 4.35 40-yard dash in Indy was the only sub-4.4 put up by a player 6-2 or taller in this year's class."
Cooper has long been considered the best wide receiver in this year's draft class. He caught 115 passes for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. However, White arguably had the more impressive combine outing. Either way, the Raiders are poised to add a serious receiving threat to an offense in desperate need of some help. That has to be considered a win no matter how filled your beer cup is.
