Depending on how you look at it, the Oakland Raiders are either in an incredibly favorable position or in something of a no-man's land at the No. 4 overall selection in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
They're just beyond being able to reach any of the top three players, likely to be some combination of quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota and either a wide receiver or defensive lineman, but in a spot that many teams behind them would probably like to inhabit.
While most NFL draft pundits have Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie and head coach Jack Del Rio eyeing receivers like West Virginia's Kevin White or Alabama's Amari Cooper at No. 4, it seems that McKenzie may instead be targeting USC's Leonard Williams and, further, may actually be considering a trade up for the massive defensive lineman.
"The player that they really want to get, according to sources I've talked to, is Leonard Williams, the defensive lineman out of USC. They'd like to either move up a spot or two because everybody is saying that Williams is going to be gone by the No. 3 overall pick.
"So, in other words, if the Raiders want to get him they would probably have to trade up to No. 2 to get him," Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reported on Wednesday.
Williams, 6-foot-5, 300-pounds, projects as a three-technique defensive tackle in the NFL. He finished last season for the Trojans with 80 tackles, seven sacks, one interception and three forced fumbles. Williams also grew up in California as a big Raiders fan and reportedly let the team know that he'd "love to play for them" in December, according to Charlie Campbell of Walter Football.
A trade up to one of the 2015 NFL Draft's top three picks would likely require an investment of some significant resources for Oakland. According to the NFL Draft Trade Chart, the fourth-overall selection is worth 1,800 points - each of the three picks before it progressively increase in imaginary draft worth by 400 points.
So for the Raiders, moving up just one spot to No. 3 would require approximately 400 points of value beyond just the No. 4 pick. The Raiders second-round pick, for comparison, is worth 540 points.
Getting to No. 2, which is worth 2,600 points, would require approximately 800 points beyond the No. 4 selection.
It's difficult to envision the Raiders willingness to part with such valuable draft assets, especially considering the lower you go in the draft, the less value the picks have - the fourth pick in the third-round is worth only 250 points. There's also the fact that the Raiders already have numerous holes on their roster and don't have many players they could include in a package for a trade up for Williams to consider.
Cole added that while the Raiders and McKenzie would prefer to trade up for Williams, should he go before their selection, they'll look to trade back from the No. 4 spot, add picks and then target a receiver.
"If they can't do that and it's likely that they can't, look for the Raiders to try and get out of that spot and take one of the many wide receivers - hopefully still Cooper, hopefully still White - but there are another six guys in this draft who evaluators believe are going to be top wide receivers and are going to be good values in this draft and the Raiders will still be able to get even if they move back," said Cole.
Beyond White and Cooper, Louisville's DeVante Park, Central Florida's Breshad Perriman, Arizona State's Jaelen Strong and perhaps even Ohio State's Devin Smith or Oklahoma's Dorial Green-Beckham could be targets in the mid-to-late first for the Raiders.
In the end, it seems almost certain based on Cole's report that no matter what happens on draft night in late April, the Raiders won't simply be standing pat and are, in fact, quite unlikely to draft at No. 4 overall.
