The Oakland Raiders have a number of holes on their roster at present, but according to the latest report the No. 4 pick in the first-round of the 2015 NFL Draft may not go toward plugging any of them.
Instead, Peter King of Sports Illustrated revealed in his first mock draft offering of the offseason that McKenzie and the Raiders will do everything in their power to trade out of their high spot in the first round, nabbing a number of other major draft assets in the process.
"GM Reggie McKenzie waits for the phone to ring. He'll trade during his pick, especially with Williams on the board. Interesting trade-up candidate: Cleveland, with the 12th, 19th and 43rd picks, and with a big need for a dominating three-technique pile-mover," writes King.
King - about as in tune with the thinking of NFL execs as any member of the media - has the Raiders taking mammoth USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams barring a trade, but seems to believe that Williams' presence on the board will push a number of teams lower in the round - like the Browns - to try and trade up.
McKenzie has a history of trading down in the first-round. He did just that in the 2013 NFL Draft when he dropped from the third-overall selection to No. 12 after trading with the Miami Dolphins.
McKenzie wound up selecting cornerback D.J. Hayden out of Houston.
While Hayden has struggled to stay healthy and hasn't provided much in the way of impact thus far in his two-year NFL career, there should be plenty of quality prospects remaining on the board if the Raiders drop to somewhere within the middle portion of the 2015 NFL Draft's first-round.
Fans of the black and silver would likely prefer McKenzie to stay put and take one of the top two receivers on the board - West Virginia's Kevin White or Alabama's Amari Cooper - to help young franchise quarterback Derek Carr, but this draft is deep at both receiver and pass-rusher, two of the top needs for Oakland.
McKenzie would do well to trade down, add an extra pick or three then go to work in the draft's middle rounds, collecting as many high-upside prospects as possible.
