Mock drafts around the NFL are in full gear and everyone (around here at least) wants to know what the Raiders are looking to do with their first-round pick.
So far, we’ve seen a report that the Raiders are focusing on their secondary with their first first pick, but also a lot of talk about them taking an offensive tackle. Among those thinking the Raiders are, for now, planning to draft an offensive tackle is Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I think they are going to take a tackle in the first round,” Bonsignore said Wednesday on the Pritch and Clay radio show. “But if a Micah Parsons falls to them, I think a guy like that would give them pause in terms of sticking with the plan.”
It will be interesting to see how the first round plays out because a lot media personalities around the team have hinted that the Raiders might be a team that could trade up for Parsons. It’s fair to wonder how much truth is leaking out of the Raiders building, but The Athletic‘s Vic Tafur did predict they would take Henry Ruggs a year ago – so good draft information does leave the building. In March, Tafur said all signs are pointing to the Raiders taking an offensive lineman “early” in the draft, so that seems to be consistent with what Bonsignore is saying now.
Maybe the Raiders do love Parsons, but if they are hoping the Penn State linebacker will fall a little in the draft, they sure seem to be sharing it a lot with their media buddies.
Whatever the case, answers are coming. The draft is two weeks from today.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Surely, this article will stand on it’s own merits. However, just a few minutes ago, I read an article about how Tanner Muse is preparing to return to the Raiders, this year, fully ready to go. What excited me about this article was his size (6’2″), his youth (24), and his speed in the 40 yard dash (4.47). The reason that all of this enamoured me is because possibly, for the first time in many years, the Raiders “may” have someone who could possibly “fix” a long time weakness of the Raiders, and just about every other team in the NFL, the ability to cover an opposing team’s tightend. Just like every team that the Raiders played last year had “trouble” covering Darren Waller, the Raiders, and every other team that played the Kansas City Chiefs had trouble covering Travis Kelce. In my opinion, rather than specifically playing on Special Teams, Tanner Muse could be an answer to the size, strength and height matchup nightmare that Travis Kelce presented to the Raiders for the past few years. At least, that is my hope.