Has the Raiders’ first-round decision been made?

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, April 21, 2009  |  Comments( 26 )

Oakland Raiders
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With the NFL draft mere days away and the Oakland Raiders lacking in one area (the defensive line) and sorely lacking in three others (wide receiver, offensive tackle, safety), speculation is rife as to what Tom Cable, Al Davis & Co. will do with the seventh overall selection. But has the Raider brain trust already made the decision?

Sure, it’s all guesswork and coy verbal games at this point, but The Associated Press’ latest bit on some Cable commentary has to get you thinking a bit. In response to an interview question about addressing the Oakland offensive line, Cable explained that “There [are] four legitimate guys that can play for anybody, regardless of what your scheme is, and probably all four can play left tackle," Cable said. "It's a luxury if ever there's been one...”

The foursome to which Cable is referring includes Eugene Monroe of Virginia, Michael Oher of Mississippi, Andre Smith of Alabama and Jason Smith of Baylor. Most mock drafts have the St. Louis Rams (drafting at No. 2 overall), Cleveland Browns (No. 5) and Cincinnati Bengals (No. 6) going the O-tackle route; though St. Louis seems like a lock to Monroe or Jason Smith, one can only guess at what Cincy will do while Seattle could go any which way.

In any scenario, however, many factors appear to be nudging the Raiders toward taking a tackle. Cable is dead-on correct about the amount of talent on the O-line in this year’s draft, and this is where the man’s entire resume is based, after all. No safety on either side is worthy of going this high in the draft, and Davis by reputation does not enjoy trading down.

Meanwhile, with a number of seemingly decent receivers still available via free agency, might not the Raiders’ bargaining position be strengthened if the offensive line looks to be, um, strengthened? I mean, why not take a chance on Plaxico Burress at this point? Won’t Deion Branch be released soon? How about trading Michael Bush and 2010 picks for Anquan Boldin plus a mid-rounder? Factor in that drafting a WR early is always a crap shoot, and an already established veteran presence is probably the way to go to fill this gap.

Of course, being set on the third- or fourth-best left tackle coming out of college is hardly a poor position in which to find oneself in 2009. Any one of the four mentioned above, while not a sure thing, will certainly make a solid addition to the woeful Raider line. And because the front office folks in Oakland have performed so brilliantly this offseason, the team has options this weekend, not to mention a viable short-term future.

“With the seventh pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select ...” an offensive lineman? That sounds OK.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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CommentsComments: 26  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Spoakland		12:35 AM
04/22/2009
From what I've read, I think your hunch is correct. If the Raiders stay at #7, their first choice will be one of the 4 ...
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No.2
Raidehz		08:34 AM
04/22/2009
Is this site infected with the Conficker Worm? Took 5-minutes to load after signing in. I sure hope we don't go with an ...
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No.3
JustRa8dersBaby		08:45 AM
04/22/2009
"How about trading Michael Bush and 2010 picks for Anquan Boldin plus a mid-rounder? " Michael Bush should not be traded for ...
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