Oakland Raiders 2012 Mock Draft: Best Case and Worst Case 7-Round Scenarios

The Oakland Raiders aren't making much noise in free agency and will attempt to build through the draft. Missing are five of their original seven draft selections and in their place are five players that may contribute in 2012.

A couple more selections may be awarded as compensatory selections, but that is yet to be determined.

What is the best and worse case scenarios for the Raiders' 2012 draft? Not only does it depend on the players they draft, but how many they draft and how the players they obtained for those picks perform.

 



1st Round: Carson Palmer

Hue Jackson orchestrated a trade that brought Palmer to Oakland. It was too much to give up, but what's done is done. The Raiders have their franchise quarterback, right? That's the hope. The new regime is hitching their wagon to Palmer and putting a new offense around him. There weren't many other options for the Raiders.

Best Case: Palmer, with an offseason with the receivers and studying the offense, turns in a Pro Bowl season and leads the Raiders to their first playoff berth since 2002. Winning the AFC championship game would bump the 2013 pick from a second- to a first-round pick and further justify why Hue Jackson traded for him. 

Worst Case: Palmer continues to be a turnover machine and the Raiders change the offense to the extent that Palmer is handicapped by his weaknesses. Palmer is average, doesn't lead the Raiders to the playoffs and never justifies even one of the two picks the Raiders gave up for him.

 

2nd Round: Joseph Barksdale and Taiwan Jones

2011 was the rookie year for Barksdale and Jones, and neither produced. Jones was injured and never cracked the rotation at running back and Barksdale spent the entire season as a backup. While the Raider...

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