Jon Gruden's Raiders own three first-round selections, including the No. 4 overall pick, plus early in the second round they own pick No. 35. Along with the Giants, the Raiders are going to be the storyline of Round 1. Do they want Kyler Murray? If so, they can go get him at No. 1 and not worry about sacrificing draft capital in future years. If the Raiders decide they want two blue-chippers instead, by combining their two picks late in the first round they could get as high as No. 5 or 6. Or they can add 3-4 potential long-term starters simply by staying put. All options are on the table.
Check out which picks the Raiders currently have below, along with our projection of their top positional needs. I'll then build a war-room big board based upon players I think have some kind of chance of making it to their first pick before sharing multiple draft classes that make sense for the team from myself, Chris Trapasso and Ryan Wilson.
As for the actual draft, you'll be able to stream our live coverage right here on CBS Sports HQ (or download the CBS Sports app for free on any mobile or connected TV device) breaking down all the picks and everything you need to know during draft weekend.
Current draft picks
| Round | Overall | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | |
| 1 | 24 | from Chicago |
| 1 | 27 | from Dallas |
| 2 | 35 | |
| 4 | 106 | |
| 5 | 140 | from New York Jets |
| 7 | 218 | |
| 7 | 235 | from Seattle |
Team needs
The CBS Sports NFL writing staff recently compiled positional rankings to identify needs for each team heading into the draft. A helpful guide: any position group that had an average ranking worse than 16.0 (on a scale of 1 to 32) was considered a "need," while any that ranked worse than 23.0 (bottom-third of the league) was considered a "pressing need."
| QB | RB | WR/TE | OL | EDGE | INT DL | LB | DB |
| 20.6 | 29.6 | 12.8 | 22.4 | 31.4 | 30.2 | 23.8 | 30.5 |
Needs: QB, RB, OL, EDGE, INT DL, LB, DB
Pressing: RB, EDGE, INT DL, LB, DB
Jon Gruden pared this roster down to its bare bones before trading for Antonio Brown and signing Tyrell Williams, Trent Brown, and Lamarcus Joyner, among others. Still, there are a ton of needs here. They start with quarterback, where Derek Carr no longer looks like the answer he appeared to be a couple years ago. Kyler Murray? Dwayne Haskins? We'll see. The Raiders have three first-round picks and could definitely use an influx of talent on the defensive front (Rashan Gary? Quinnen Williams?) and in the backfield (Greedy Williams? Byron Murphy? DeAndre Baker?). Even after signing Brandon Marshall and Vontaze Burfict to go along with Tahir Whitehead, linebacker remains a need as well because Marshall and Whitehead are in their late-20s and Burfict probably got suspended while I was writing this sentence.
War room big board
I'm on record (as you'll see below) saying the Raiders are a prime candidate to trade up for Kyler Murray, but rather than rehash that ground here, let's take quarterback off the table completely. Here's how I'd project the Raiders' draft board for their first pick, considering only players I feel have some chance of making it in range:
- DE Nick Bosa, Ohio State
- DT Quinnen Williams, Alabama
- DE Josh Allen, Kentucky
- LB Devin White, LSU
Seven-round mock drafts
| Round | Overall | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma | from ARI* |
| 1 | 4 | to Arizona | |
| 1 | 24 | CB Greedy Williams, LSU | from CHI |
| 1 | 27 | to Arizona | from DAL |
| 2 | 35 | to Denver | |
| 2 | 41 | RB Josh Jacobs, Alabama | from DEN* |
| 4 | 106 | TE Josh Oliver, San Jose State | |
| 4 | 125 | LB David Long Jr., West Virginia (to OAK) | from DEN* |
| 5 | 140 | to New Orleans | from NYJ |
| 5 | 168 | LB Gary Johnson, Texas | from NO* |
| 6 | 177 | TE Caleb Wilson, UCLA | from NO* |
| 7 | 218 | DT Daniel Wise, Kansas | |
| 7 | 235 | to Denver | from SEA |
| | | DE Jason Pierre-Paul (from Tampa Bay) | |
Raiders fans can keep shouting from the rooftops that there's no way the team would take Murray when it has Derek Carr, but there's definitely smoke here with the attention they've shown to the talented Oklahoma quarterback. The 49ers could get out of Jimmy Garoppolo's contract in 2020 just like Carr, while the Bucs don't have a QB on the books after Jameis Winston's contract runs out this year, but neither team has shown any attention to Murray, unlike the Raiders.
So I'm going to bet Jon Gruden falls head over heels with Murray and moves up to No. 1 for him, an easy sell for ownership with the star power he can bring to Vegas in 2020 after the team trades Carr next offseason. It costs just one other first-round pick (No. 27) plus offensive tackle Kolton Miller as a "first-round value" player who can help the Cardinals and is likely bumped from the blindside by the big-money addition of Trent Brown in Oakland. Of course, the Raiders could just stay put and take Quinnen Williams, or even trade back and pick up an edge rusher. All options are on the table.
The Raiders use their remaining first-rounder on the top cornerback in this class in Greedy Williams, a fast and athletic cover corner with tackling issues but someone who can make plenty of plays as well. The team then trades back slightly in the second round before juicing up the rushing attack with Jacobs. That gives them the top player in this class at three different positions (QB, CB, RB).
With no edge talent in their haul through two rounds, the Raiders swap a 2020 third for a 2020 fourth and Pierre-Paul, who doesn't seem like a great fit for Tampa Bay's move to the 3-4. Oakland added players like Luke Willson and Vontaze Burfict this offseason but still needs a talent injection at both tight end in linebacker, so they double up those positions in the next four picks. Oliver and WIlson can compete for targets as pass-catching tight ends, while Long and Johnson provide speed and athleticism at linebacker. Wise isn't big but he's tenacious on the interior and capable of playing an immediate role.
More seven-round mocks:
(*) indicates pick acquired via trade
Check out more first-round mocks from CBS Sports.