The Raiders have three defined needs entering the NFL Draft: QB, OL, CB. How they decide to address those needs will be incredibly fascinating. The Raiders only have three picks inside the top 110, which will make filling all of their needs very difficult.
But what need is the biggest for the Raiders entering draft weekend? And which one must they address early in the draft?
In a recent article by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, he wrote about the biggest need for the Raiders entering the draft and explained why it’s on the offensive line. Here is a snippet of what he thinks about the unit going into the draft:
The Raiders also would love to add a No. 1 cornerback, but the most glaring hole on the depth chart is on the right side of the offensive line. Third-year player Thayer Munford Jr. will get a shot to replace the departed Jermaine Eluemunor at tackle (as well as getting a look at right guard, according to GM Tom Telesco), but the Raiders need to add a free agent and/or a couple of draft picks at those spots.
Munford is expected to start at either right guard or right tackle, but the Raiders need another quality offensive lineman to fill the other spot that he doesn’t take.
The good is that there should be several quality offensive linemen available to the Raiders at No. 13 including JC Latham (Alabama), Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State), and Amarius Mims (Georgia). All three were starters at right tackle for their respective teams and would make them intriguing Round 1 picks for Las Vegas.
Expect the Raiders to leave the first two days of the draft with at least one starting-caliber offensive lineman. It’s their biggest need and they appear dead-set on addressing it early this year.
