Should Raiders target TE Julius Thomas in Free Agency?

One of the playmaker names out there for the free agent class of 2015 is Denver Broncos Tight End Julius Thomas. Something intriguing about Julius Thomas is that he grew up in Northern California and that many members of his family happen to be fans of the Oakland Raiders.

See the door there, it is definitely cracked open, our own Levi Damien has an excellent article detailing why it is a possibility.  More proof of that possibility comes via the radio station 95.7 The Game which had an interview with Julius on their show "The Wheelhouse with John Lund and Greg Papa".

"Everything is a possibility, I guess the Raiders would have to want me in order for negotiations to start or maybe offer me a contract, who knows what's going to happen. But my dad is a big time raiders fan, my dad and my grandpa have had season tickets for I think like 15 years now."

Does it really matter to athletes if they play on the team that they rooted for growing up? Sometimes, but not always as the DeSean Jackson courting proved last year. It never hurts the chances of landing that player though, especially if the player has a fair amount of people in their ear about who they should play for. That appears to be the case with Thomas here as well, including some of them being current Raiders players in fact.

"A lot of the Raiders have cornered me and are telling me about how great Derek Carr is. So you know, because I am from Northern California, a lot of people are definitely making sure you (John Lund and Greg Papa) aren't the only ones pitching the Raiders."

Hopefully the interest is mutual between the Raiders and Thomas, none of this matters if Reggie McKenzie does not want to make the investment in the young TE who had Peyton Manning throwing to him last year. It definitely appears that the Broncos are going to let Thomas hit free agency though, and the Raiders would be foolish not to at least spin the wheels on adding him.

What do you think? Should the Raiders make a play on Julius Thomas? Answer in the Poll Question below!

Listen to the full interview with Julius Thomas on The Wheelhouse with John Lund & Greg Papa here: