Oakland Raiders Mock Draft: The Real Beginning

Wow, what an offseason for the Raiders!

Midway through free agency, a lot of Raiders fans were calling for Reggie McKenzie’s head. There were some big-name free agents out there, and Raider Nation wanted a few.

With the cuts of Michael Huff, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Dave Tollefson, Reggie freed up some much needed cap room. This trend continued with Tommy Kelly and Rolando McClain being cut, and Carson Palmer being traded to Arizona. Reggie retooled the team while making cuts at the same time and freeing it from salary cap purgatory.

From a fan’s perspective, the moves hurt. From a business perspective, the moves are sheer genius. He has set the team up with the ability to re-sign OT Jared Veldheer, C/G Stefen Wisniewski and DE/DT Lamarr Houston, while still having money left over to bring in a few top-tier free agents and sign the draft class.

I believe this year’s draft is where McKenzie and company will shine and prove why he is the man for the job.

Here we go...

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