Unless the Oakland Raiders retain Latavius Murray or add another veteran running back, the team will surely target a player at this position early in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Already linked to future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, there’s a chance Oakland will will indeed add a veteran in free agency. This would make the need to go running back early in the draft pretty much non-existent.
Though, according to one well-connected media member, the Raiders would definitely welcome Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey into the mix if he were available with their first-round pick.
sources indicate the #Raiders would "welcome the chance" to draft Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey in 1st round of 2017 #NFLDraft @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) March 14, 2017
The 5-foot-11, 202-pound McCaffrey is seen as a first-round talent after absolutely dominating the college game with two Cardinal over the past two seasons. During that span, the son of former NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey recorded over 4,500 total yards and 29 touchdowns in 25 games.
While he’s an extremely talented back, there’s some concern that McCaffrey might not hold up as a three-down guy at the next level. That’s pushed his stock down past the likes of Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook.
This could make McCaffrey available to the Raiders when they pick 24th overall in the upcoming draft. It could also make for a scary-good offense, especially after Oakland added Cordarrelle Patterson in free agency earlier this week.