It’s officially draft week. And that means the rumors and misinformation will all be at its highest.
The first big rumor of the week comes from NBC Sports’ Peter King as he recently finished up his last mock draft of the year. At pick No. 12, the Raiders had their choice of any wide receiver in the class, along with Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
King gave the Raiders CeeDee Lamb because he believes that general manager Mike Mayock “loves” the former Oklahoma Sooner receiver. Take a look at King’s full thoughts on the pick below:
Maybe the toughest call I had to make Sunday evening, having the Raiders bypass Tua Tagovailoa for Lamb. I did it because I keep hearing both Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden are intrigued with new backup Marcus Mariota; adding Tagovailoa might be the best thing for 2023, but it’s not so great for 2020. But they could do it. As for Lamb: Mayock loves him, thinks he’s the most complete receiver in the draft, and even though I think Gruden likely would prefer the take-the-top-off speed of Henry Ruggs, he’s happy to have a true number one receiver who can win consistently against NFL-caliber corners.
If Tagaovailoa is on the board for Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden, that would be awfully hard for the two of them to pass up. However, Lamb is a stud and fills a much bigger need for the Raiders. He may not have the speed of Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III, but he is a better fit in the offense given how he wins.
It’s worth noting that King gave the Raiders cornerback Kristian Fulton at pick No. 19 to address their cornerback need. While the name may be interchangeable with a few others, expect Las Vegas to target a cornerback with that pick.
