With the 2014 NFL Draft just around the corner, Reggie McKenzie will be looking to fill needs with top talent. One of those holes is at wide receiver where the Raiders have not had a receiver surpass 1,000 yards in nine years. But how does Reggie McKenzie intend to fill that gap? He may have answered that question.
"It depends on how good that receiver is, it really does. If I feel like this receiver is close to the next [receiver on the board], yeah, I'll be more inclined to say that we can wait because we feel like these two guys are similar," McKenzie said in a press conference Thursday. "But, if I feel like this guy is an impact player, I'm not going to bypass him because there are some other good, solid receivers. When you're comparing great to good, I'd rather have great."
While there are many "impact" players in the 2014 NFL Draft, two receivers stand out from the rest. Those two players are Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans.
Watkins is regarded as a top three talent and will likely be gone before the Raiders pick at number five. I think he is the best offensive player in the draft and Daniel Jeremiah has Watkins as the number two overall player on his Big Board.
Evans is viewed as a top ten talent and should be available for the Raiders in the first round. He is the number two wide receiver in my offensive position rankings.
Both players would definitely improve the Raiders offense. With the addition of either Watkins or Evans, the Raiders depth chart would look like:
Starters: Watkins or Evans, James Jones, Rod Streater
Backups: Denarius Moore, Andre Holmes, Brice Butler
That would be a force to reckon with and would go a long way to helping Matt Schaub return to his old form. McKenzie made it clear that he would rather have a "great" wide receiver than a "good" one. Luckily for him, there is a very good chance that one of those playmakers will still be on the board with the fifth overall pick.
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