At the moment, the Raiders officially have only a 5th and 6th round pick in the draft, but once compensatory picks are issued for the losses of Nnamdi Asomugha, Robert Gallery, Zach Miller, and Thomas Howard, they could have as many as five picks in rounds 3 through 6.
Considering what the team has gleaned out of those rounds in recent years, McKenzie is hardly wasting his time in Indianapolis. Here are a few familiar names he can use as inspiration: Matt Shaughnessy (3rd round), Jared Veldheer (3rd round), Michael Bush (4th round), Louis Murphy (4th round), Kevin Boss (5th round), Shane Lechler (5th round), Denarius Moore (5th round), Trevor Scott (6th round), Chaz Schilens (7th round), Tommy Kelly (undrafted), and Sterling Moore (undrafted).
As McKenzie orchestrates the Raiders' first draft without Al Davis in the Super Bowl era, he'll hope to continue the trend of success in later rounds. But don't expect him to overvalue players' physical tools (as Davis was often accused of doing). McKenzie told Jerry McDonald on Thursday that he sees the combine as an opportunity to interview and review medical information, but that athletic skills don't necessarily translate to football skills.
As far as those out-of-whack contracts are concerned, Jerry McDonald tweeted yesterday that McKenzie is still "trying to get things done" with players' agents. With so many huge cap numbers in 2012, he has plenty of contracts he will consider restructuring or could eliminate by March 13.
As it stands, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, Jared Veldheer, Matt Shaughnessy, Lamarr Houston, Stefen Wisniew...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
