Could the Raiders go back to the well of Pete Carroll’s former players and add another starter on offense before the draft?
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur talked about the Raiders’ wide receiver situation last week and he believes former Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett is a good bet to end up in Las Vegas.
“As far as the receiver goes, I think there are some veteran guys still in this market… I still think Tyler Lockett probably winds up here. I think he’s waiting to see how this market goes, and I think Stefon Diggs was the last domino to fall,” Tafur said on the Just Win podcast.
“He got more, probably, than people thought he was going to get, so I think for Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper, [they are] kind of waiting to see if they can get something close to that and Lockett probably is after that. I think it happens at some point, they’ll a veteran guy to the mix, because right now their depth at wide receiver is not very good. I think you need another one before the draft.”
Lockett is 32 years old and will turn 33 in September, but he has the obvious relationship with Carroll and Geno Smith. In theory, Lockett shouldn’t need additional time getting in sync with Smith, so the rush to sign Lockett might not be quite the same as other free agents wide receivers.
Whether it’s Lockett or someone else, there’s no question the Raiders need to make a move or two at the wide receiver position.
Finding a receiver in the draft with more physicality and size might be a nice addition, as well.
In February, Tafur talked about the Raiders finding a true ‘x’ receiver and he said the buzz at the NFL Combine was that Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan might slide out of first 10 picks on draft day.
“I think the new regime does not really view Jakobi Meyers as the number one guy. I think that they like him, but I think they clearly want a number one guy, a guy who can make the big plays, stretch the field a little bit,” Tafur said on the Just Win podcast. “I think there are a lot of guys in the draft this year who can do that and there are some guys that are in free agency, so I think that will be a big thing they hit on is number one receiver.”
“If you do want to trade down and get more picks… you hear these things and you don’t know if it’s a buzz or just noise, but you hear all of a sudden Macmillan, the receiver out of Arizona, may be falling a little bit out of the top 10. If that’s the case, you may be able to trade down and get a number one receiver at 12 or 13,” Tafur continued.
“I think [McMillan] is really good and he’s a guy who I think has big playability and definitely, I think he’s just scratched the surface as far as what he can do to get better so that’s a guy I’d be excited about if I could trade down and get Macmillan from Arizona and attack my number one need on offense.”
According to the most widely accepted trade charts, the 6th pick would be worth at least an additional second-round pick if the Raiders move down to pick 12 or 13.
x: @raidersbeat
Running back is number one need or a corner the can play receiver?
Lockett, Cooper, 3rd and Renfro come on down welcome to Las Vegas Baby!