General manager Mike Mayock has spoken a couple times this offseason. Both times he has been asked about team needs and specifically that of wide receiver. He seems to have two thoughts about the position in terms of the draft; one that the Raiders need one badly. Probably more than any other position on the team, which basically goes without saying so it’s no great revelation for him to say it. And two that taking one high in the draft is risky.
Back at the Senior Bowl, he said you have to be careful when drafting a wide receiver in the first round. Tuesday at the combine, he doubled down on that, saying “I would argue that there are just as many misses up top at wide receiver as there are at quarterback.”
That’s a pretty big statement to make considering how no position is considered more boom or bust at the top of the draft than quarterback. Though, to be fair, that’s mainly because of how crucial the position is to the success or failure of a team.
Tuesday he added more details on this wide receiver class that may have revealed a bit about the Raiders’ approach to the position in this draft.
“The average over the last five years for wide receivers that go in the first three rounds of the draft is about 12. It’s between 12 and 13 a year,” said Mayock. “You can easily make an argument from a grade perspective that there are 20 to 25 of those guys out there this year. Now, that’s just from a grade perspective. I’m not saying 20 to 25 are going. So, there’s depth throughout and there’s quality up top. So, I think from a wideout [perspective] that’s what you’re looking for in any class and on paper today in February that’s what we see.”
To translate, Mayock is suggesting that we could be in the third round, with quite a few first and second-round level wide receiver prospects still on the board. And the Raiders currently have three third-round picks.
Mayock made sure to say there was quality at the top, so as to no send out the indication that he has no interest in selecting a wide receiver in the first round. But if they did go in another direction at 12 and 19 — like maybe quarterback or linebacker — Mayock thinks they could still get a viable starting-caliber receiver much later on.
There’s reason to trust Mayock and Gruden here when you consider they pulled Hunter Renfrow out of the fifth round last year.
And keep in mind that even if they take a receiver high, that doesn’t mean they’re done at the position. They could double-dip if the right guy is there, just as they did with their top need at pass rusher last year. Currently, the Raiders have two sure wide receivers on this team and they need five of them.
