BAKERSFIELD, Calif — When Roger Goodell zooms in from his "man cave" and announces that the "Las Vegas Raiders are now on the clock" with the 12th pick, the Silver and Black could make Bakersfield native Derek Carr a happy man by taking a wide receiver, according to The Athletic'sbeat writer Tashan Reed.
"Go out and give him some receivers," Reed said. "You know, I think if you asked him, he would play up the guys on the roster, he doesn’t want to down any of his teammates, but he needs some help out there.”
The Raiders struggled to find a true number one receiver on their roster in 2019 after releasing Antonio Brown before the season even began. The team ranked in the bottom half of the league in receiving touchdowns. 12 of their 22 total scores through the air were caught by the wide receiving corps in 2019, with nine coming from the tight ends and one from a fullback.
“CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Juedy," Reed said when asked about a potential first pick. "One of those three should still be there at 12 and if they are, I think they’ll go out and take them. That player may not be what Amari Cooper was, particularly with that being such a weak position on their roster right now, I don't see them going anywhere but receiver at 12.”
The Raiders had great success later in the draft finding starters on their roster. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow was a fifth-round pick who contributed immediately and fourth-round pick Maxx Crosby was a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
“It’s really those middle rounds where they had the most success," Reed said. "This year, they have three third-round picks, a third and a fifth and so they’re kind of in that range where they might kind of find some guys that weren’t the best college players in the world. They might not be as high on some people’s draft boards, but they have values in those later rounds.”
You can watch every round of the NFL Draft on 23ABC. Round one begins Thursday at 4 p.m.
