The Raiders did about everything they could do (besides offer more cash up front) to add a top cornerback in free agency, but in the end they settled on 24 year-old Eli Apple, who will look to resurrect his career in Las Vegas.
What that means is the Raiders still don’t know exactly what they have at cornerback and they might find themselves in a position on draft day where they can’t afford not to draft a cornerback. The 2020 draft might not be loaded with highly-rated corners, but team beat writer Vic Tafur believes cornerback has become a draft priority for the Raiders.
“Eli Apple takes Worley’s place as a veteran cornerback who could start, but they would like to add a No. 1 cornerback in the draft to start opposite Trayvon Mullen,” Tafur wrote in The Athletic this week.
The question is, which cornerback in the draft might be worth a first-round pick? Arguably only Jeff Okudah fits that description and he definitely won’t be around when the Raiders are on the clock.
Ryan Lopes wrote about the Raiders draft options at cornerback and it will be interesting to see if the Raiders end up talking themselves into one of the cornerbacks other than Okudah. As of now, Lopes doesn’t see good value at cornerback until the latter half of the first round.
Knowing Gruden, it will be hard for him to pass on taking two receivers in the draft so maybe there is a scenario where the Raiders can trade out of the no. 12 pick and end up with three picks in the first 2 rounds. In that case, maybe Gruden could slide down and end up getting a cornerback along with a receiver combo like Tee Higgins and Justin Jefferson.
Who says no to that?
twitter: @raidersbeat
