While talk has persisted for weeks that the Oakland Raiders will be targeting a player like Leonard Williams or one of the top wide receivers in the 2015 NFL Draft like Amari Cooper or Kevin White with the No. 4 overall pick, it seems that in the day leading up to the first-round, talk has begun to build that they could potentially be eyeing a trade back.
The Atlanta Falcons on the other hand continue to be touted as a potential trade-up team.
ESPN's John Clayton floats the notion that there could be a perfect draft trade marriage between the Raiders and Falcons, with the Falcons then using the No. 4 pick to target former Florida pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr.
The Falcons under new head coach Dan Quinn have a clear need at pass-rusher - they finished last season with just 22 sacks, good enough for 30th in the league, ironically ahead of only the Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
Considering the Raiders own need at the position, they seem to be a candidate to take Fowler themselves - or Williams if he falls - but with last year's first-round pick Khalil Mack already in the fold, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio and GM Reggie McKenzie could move down and amass picks to help fill the various other holes on the Oakland roster.
For the Falcons, the 6-foot-3, 261-pound Fowler could add an immediate boost to the moribund Atlanta pass-rush. Last season for the Gators, Fowler nabbed 60 tackles - 15.0 for loss - 8.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.
Despite Clayton's notion, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that many teams believe that the Falcons are actually considering a possible trade back in the first-round and would then take an offensive lineman.
The Falcons took offensive tackle Jake Matthews out of Texas A&M in the first-round just last season, but the need for further additions still exists. Former first-round pick Sam Baker has struggled to stay healthy and Matthews is coming off of a Lisfranc injury after starting 15 games at left tackle for the Falcons during his rookie season.
