But Mayock and Jeremiah are human—and they are wrong about Florida defensive lineman Sharrif Floyd being a good fit for the Oakland Raiders.
Mayock suggested that Floyd would be a good fit for the Raiders with the third overall pick on his national conference call and Jeremiah’s most current mock draft has the Raiders taking Floyd. It makes a little sense for the Raiders to draft Floyd, but only if they fail to re-sign Desmond Bryant in free agency.
If Reggie McKenzie fails to re-sign Bryant and then simply drafts Floyd as a replacement, Oakland’s defensive line doesn’t improve. If the defensive line doesn’t improve, Oakland’s defense isn’t going to improve, unless McKenzie works magic to fix the secondary. The pick would only make sense from the standpoint that the Raiders would need a defensive tackle if Bryant doesn’t re-sign.
The Raiders have the same problem at defensive tackle as the Kansas City Chiefs do at left tackle—both teams have a talented player at the position who will be a free agent. Letting a talented player go only to replace them through the draft seems like a huge waste, because it usually is a huge waste.
The benefit of having a top pick is to add an impact player. Impact players in the NFL today are usually quarterbacks, pass-rushers or receivers. Even the once highly valued cornerback position has seen its stock drop a bit over the last few years. Unless Floyd is the next Geno Atkins, he’s just not going to have enough of an impact to be the third pick of the draft.
If the Raiders were going to draft a defensive tackle, Star Lotulelei makes more sense. Tommy Kelly makes way too much money ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
