The start of the 2017 NFL Draft is less than one month away, and the Oakland Raiders are looking to add several impact players to help them take another step forward next year, starting with the No. 24 overall pick. Here are all the latest Raiders draft news and rumors you need to know:
Oakland targeting Cam Robinson?
The Oakland Raiders already have one of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL, but Fansided's Maliik Obee explains why the team is interested in Alabama tackle Cam Robinson in the first round:
Sure, Donald Penn is coming off a Pro Bowl season, but he will be turning 34 on draft day. So finding the left tackle of the future should definitely be considered.
Robinson excelled against the SEC’s best pass rushers over the last three seasons as a starter for the Crimson Tide. Even a year under Penn’s tutelage will prepare Robinson to take the reigns.
The Raiders could allow him to compete on the right side of the line in the meantime, which is the weak point of the offensive line. Robinson would be in the mix with Vadal Alexander, Marshall Newhouse and Austin Howard.
Robinson started the season a projected top-five pick, but poor play this season has dropped him to a mid- to late-first round prospect.
Raiders to draft prospect who doesn't have a pre-draft visit with team?
The last three players the Raiders have picked in the first round - Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper and Karl Joseph - did not take pre-draft visits to Oakland, and that is a trend that may continue this year, according to Cover32's Ray Aspuria:
As they say: “Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is a pattern.” So it’s reasonable to surmise McKenzie’s first-rounder this coming April may be a kid who never set foot in the East Bay.
Peculiar? Perhaps. Methodical? Surely.
Mack, Cooper and Joseph probably sat atop McKenzie’s draft board. With that said, any further digging or evaluation probably didn’t need to occur. The GM had seen all he needed to and was comfortable. Perhaps the course changes in this year’s draft. After all, McKenzie — barring a trade — will remain in limbo until the 24th overall selection. That’s quite deeper than the Raiders have been picking the last decade-plus.
Just don’t be surprised when the prospect makes the eyebrow raising admission he didn’t hear as much as a peep from the Raiders before being selected.
Raiders won't have extension talks with Derek Carr until after the draft
Now, to a player currently on the Raiders' roster. It's no secret the Oakland would like to sign quarterback Derek Carr to a long-term extension, and they plan to have serious negotiations after the draft, according to NFL.com's Conor Orr.
After the draft, the hard work begins for the Super Bowl contending Raiders: Find a way to sign quarterback Derek Carr to a long-term extension while still leaving some money in the pot for Khalil Mack and Gabe Jackson.
"He knows what we're trying to do in free agency, and he's never saying, 'I need to know now.' It's not like that," Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie told CSN Bay Area this week in Phoenix at the Annual League Meeting. "More likely, the serious talks will happen after the draft. The communication has been ongoing, just talking about the philosophy of a contract and the thought process around it. Hopefully when the serious talks start going, then it's going to be easier."
The quarterback, guard and edge rusher markets have not been cheap over the past two seasons (guard has especially skyrocketed thanks to Kevin Zeitler's deal this offseason) and all three of Oakland's home grown stars will challenge McKenzie in the coming months and years.
Carr, however, will come first.
Carr passed for 3,937 yards with 26 touchdowns and six interceptions in 15 games last season.
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