The Oakland Raiders agreed to terms with former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree earlier this week, ostensibly lessening the need for GM Reggie McKenzie and head coach Jack Del Rio to target a wide receiver early in the looming 2015 NFL Draft.
According to a report Tuesday from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, adding Crabtree does, in fact, allow the Raiders to target another position with the No. 4 pick in the first-round, but it won't keep McKenzie and Del Rio from adding more pass-catching help for young franchise quarterback Derek Carr.
"On Monday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders agreed to terms with Michael Crabtree on a contract. This gives, according to a source, the Raiders the flexibility to not take a wide receiver with the fourth-overall pick. That has been the expectation for months," Cole reported.
"However, the Raiders would like to have the flexibility to take Leonard Williams from USC, the defensive tackle who they covet so much if he becomes available. Furthermore, this allows the Raiders to wait on the decision to take a wide receiver until the second-round or, perhaps, move around in the first or in the second-round to get somebody else."
The Raiders interest in Leonard Williams - and Williams' interest in the Raiders - has been known for quite some time. He's a big, strong, talented player that would immediately upgrade the Raiders defensive line and would join with Khalil Mack as dual building blocks for the Oakland defense.
As for the offense and Carr's weapons, Cole revealed that the Raiders would like one of the draft's top two receivers, but if they are able to get Williams, are perfectly willing to draft another wideout either later in the first or early in the second-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
"The Raiders covet Kevin White and Amari Cooper, but would be satisfied with one of the other players such as Breshad Perriman or Dorial Green-Beckham as being a candidate to be the long-term successor as the No. 1 receiver," said Cole.
Perriman is a blazer out of Central Florida - he ran the 40 in 4.24 seconds at his Pro Day - who has shot up draft boards in recent weeks. He finished this past season for the Bulls with 50 receptions and, more importantly, a 20.9 yards-per-catch average.
His route running and propensity for drops are cause for concern, but he's a player with an elite combination of size, speed and suddenness.
Green-Beckham, much like Perriman, is a raw prospect with immense talent and off-the-chart measurables, but also seemingly endless off-the-field issues. The 6-foot-5, 237-pound athletic marvel enrolled at Oklahoma for the 2014 season but was deemed ineligible after being dismissed from the Missouri program after two seasons.
Still, if it weren't for the personal issues, Green-Beckham would likely be a top-10 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
"Long-strider with vertical ability to change a game and the catch radius and body control to make the difficult look easy," writes Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, who likens Green-Beckham to Tennessee Titans receiver Justin Hunter.
