The NFL Draft is important because it offers teams the opportunity to replenish their rosters with young, inexpensive talent. Perhaps no franchise in the league was in more need of such commodities than the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders, who have not enjoyed a winning season since the last "Lord of the Rings" film was released, had perhaps the thinnest roster in the entire NFL coming into this year's draft. But with a franchise-QB-in-the-making in Derek Carr and a defensive cornerstone in Khalil Mack, general manager Reggie McKenzie knew that a solid foundation had been laid. That's why -- with needs at wide receiver, defensive end, and in the secondary -- it was so important that the Raiders come away with some solid player in this year's draft.
It looks like they accomplished that as ESPN NFL Draft Insider Mel Kiper Jr. gave the team a "B" draft grade.
"I said it after Day 1: I don't know if a team hit a bigger home run early in the draft than the Raiders did with Amari Cooper," Kiper wrote. "Last year, they knocked it out of the park with Khalil Mack, a versatile defender with a high floor because he does everything well. Cooper is in some ways a pass-catching version of Mack - he does everything well. If you're being honest as a Raiders fan, you know the jury is still out on Derek Carr in regard to 'franchise QB' status, but you really can't have a fair trial unless Carr has a player such as Cooper on the roster. Give the Raiders credit for taking the best value at a clear need and passing on tempting options such as Kevin White and Leonard Williams. If I'm critiquing, it's probably in Round 2, where I thought Mario Edwards was a bit of a reach as my 61st-ranked player. Edwards was a need, but this team has plenty of them and I had a couple dozen players rated higher there. I do like the Clive Walford pick as another matchup weapon for Carr; he has a great catch radius and will see the field early. Jon Feliciano could help at guard, though value there was just OK. I do really like Ben Heeny's chance to compete for a starting role at middle linebacker at some point. Max Valles was a pretty good value in the sixth round. I had a couple question marks, starting with Edwards, but for me, you couldn't do any better than Cooper at No. 4, and almost alone that makes it another good draft for Oakland."
As Kiper mentioned, Cooper and Walford will provide Carr with some much-needed weapons in the passing-game. Prioritizing their young QB's development was the right way to go in this draft. Though questions still remain about the team's pass-rush and even in the offensive backfield, it's clear that the Raiders are starting to build something out in Oakland.
Will new head coach Jack Del Rio be able to bring it all together?
