Positions the Raiders should target in each round of the NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft on the horizon, there are many Oakland Raiders fans who would be perfectly happy to watch their team take defensive players in every single round. That’s understandable considering the defense was a liability last season and the Raiders really only addressed the offensive side of the ball during free agency.

But at the same time, I would still like to see one or two offensive players added in this draft. Conversations on this topic have lead me to write a piece looking at what position groups I would like to have the Raiders take a look at in any given round. The idea behind this is trying to assess exactly how big certain needs are and when the Raiders should start looking at addressing them.

So, here’s a look at what positions I think the Raiders should consider in each round:

FIRST ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Offensive Tackle

SECOND ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Offensive Tackle

THIRD ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Offensive Tackle

Running Back

FOURTH ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Offensive Tackle

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

FIFTH ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

SIXTH ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Guard

Center

SEVENTH ROUND

Defensive Tackle

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Edge Rusher

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Guard

Center

TAKEAWAYS:

First, you will notice that every single round has DT, LB, CB, S, Edge. Ideally, these are positions the Raiders will address early in the draft but even if they do, I would not be surprised or upset to see the Raiders take more than one of any of these positions.

Offensive tackle appears in the early round but then disappears. That’s because I believe the Raiders need to start thinking about upgrading right tackle as well as a succession plan for Donald Penn at left tackle. Unfortunately, it’s am incredibly weak class for offensive tackles so anything beyond the fourth round is just not worth the time. Especially considering the Raiders already have two decent projects at tackle with Alexander Vadal and Denver Kirkland.

Ideally, the Raiders wait until after the second round to start looking at a running back. Which is great because the Raiders don’t need to use a high pick because they can find great talent in later rounds in what is one of the deepest running back classes in years.

Wide receiver was added in the fourth through seventh rounds. It’s not a huge need for the Raiders but this is a great class to find a solid slot receiver in later rounds to compete with Seth Roberts. Tight end is also added in the fourth and for very similar reasoning. Sure, the Raiders just signed Jared Cook but that’s a short term stop gap solution for tight end.

Finally, guard and center are added in the sixth and seventh rounds basically just because that rounds out pretty much the entire roster and you can never argue with trying to find depth pieces later in the draft.

I said that pretty much rounded out the entire roster but there is one position missing: Quarterback. After taking Connor Cook in the fourth last year and with Derek Carr holding down the starter role for the next decade or so, I really don’t think the Raiders need to be taking a quarterback in this year’s draft.