According to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Raiders aren’t considering Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles with the fifth overall pick in the upcoming 2014 NFL draft. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those who have followed Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie throughout this entire draft process.
McKenzie is not enamored with any of the top quarterbacks in this draft and seems content with going out there and getting an impact player at another position. In fact, there is a decent chance that the Raiders avoid the quarterback position completely this week.
The one quarterback that Oakland has higher on its board than most other teams is Fresno State’s Derek Carr. Based on who I have spoken with close to the situation, Carr is the Raiders No. 1 quarterback in the draft. With that said, they’re not going to exhaust a top-five pick on him.
The likelist option here for Oakland would be pass rusher Khalil Mack, who seems to fit Jason Tarver’s defense to a T. Former Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins is also an option at five. If Mack and Watkins are not available, there is a strong chance that McKenize looks to trade down while still being able to grab one of his top targets. The Raiders have been linked to Mike Evans and Taylor Lewan, both of whom might be available in a trade-down scenario.
Photo: Kirby Lee, USA Today