Another year another solid NFL Draft for the Oakland Raiders. Of course the Raiders came into the draft without a first round draft pick so to say they had another solid draft (or at least their first three picks which is what I’m going to look at here) is saying something.
With their first pick in the second round and the 48th pick overall the Raiders drafted the nephew of their assistant offensive line coach – Stefen Wisniewski out of Penn State. According to head coach Hue Jackson this is the new center for the Oakland Raiders and that’s why I call this a solid draft for the Raiders…
For the second year in a row the Oakland Raiders went out and drafted a position of need. The Oakland Raiders sucked at center last year and the Raiders got themselves an intelligent center who prides himself on being tough and at 6’3 and over 300 lbs. he’s also good size for a center.
With their second pick of the draft the Raiders went with the fastest guy at the combine former Miami cb Demarcus Van Dyke with the 81st pick in the draft (3rd round). Van Dyke seems like a stretch as a cb but when Hue Jackson was questioned about him the first words out of his mouth were Jacoby Ford. So maybe the plan is to utilize the speed in special teams but frankly as a db I think this guy is a stretch because he couldn’t crack the starting lineup at Miami…
With their third pick in the draft the Raiders got what I think is another solid starting prospect. With the 91st pick in the draft the Raiders drafted Joseph Barksdale out of LSU. Barksdale is 6’5, 325 and a 3 year starter at LSU where he faced some of the best collegiate defenses in the country. Barksdale is described at a big mauling blocker. I like this pick but the knock on Barksdale is that he’s a little shaky in the passing game particularly in space and that he lacks the foot quickness to keep up with the defensive ends of the NFL. Looks like the Raiders have themselves another project…
If you’re a Raiders fan you should be absolutely pumped about this draft. The Raiders made the most of what little they had and addressed their most important position of need which was the offensive line.
According to Hue Jackson the Raiders have a new starting center in Stefen Wisniewski and frankly I find it hard to believe he can be worse then what the Raiders trotted out their last year. At the very least Barksdale should push someone for a starting job. And Van Dyke… well after seeing what Jacoby Ford did last season I don’t think I’ll ever argue against another late round “speed” pick again…
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