What condition the Raiders position is in pre-draft: Safety

Starters: Reggie Nelson, Nate Allen
Depth: Tevin McDonald, Dewey McDonald, Brynden Trawick, Chris Hackett

Reggie Nelson is the newest member of the Raiders, having been signed to a free agent contract this week. Allen was released and re-signed this offseason after one injury plagued season in Oakland. Tevin McDonald was back and forth from the practice squad last season as an undrafted rookie. Dewey McDonald has appeared in 15 games in two seasons in the NFL including one game for the Raiders last season. Old McDonald had a farm, reportedly with noisy animals everywhere. Trawick was signed this offseason, primarily for his special teams work. Hackett was signed to a reserve/futures contract in January.

Condition: Serious

This condition was absolutely critical until this week when the team added Reggie Nelson. A pro bowler last season, he has played 9 season in the NFL for the Jaguars and Bengals. He tied for the league lead in interceptions last season at the age of 32. Though he was added on just a two-year deal, it was crucial the Raiders get someone in place to help fill the void left by the retired Charles Woodson.

Allen is better at free safety than he is at strong safety. But with Nelson on board, he is the best option the Raiders have to take over there. After signing a long term deal with the Raiders last offseason, he finished just 3 games last season and was twice placed on injured reserve. He is more of a placeholder now who will compete for a starting job. But he is not the ideal choice at the strong safety spot.

The Raiders don't even have two surefire starters, so as you might imagine the depth is just about non-existent. There is a total of one NFL start between the four backups on this team (Trawick). The longest tenured Raider among them is Tevin McDonald who saw a grand total of nine snaps last season.

Nelson's addition was crucial, but it doesn't in any way change the Raiders' draft plans at the position. Still expect they will add a safety high in this draft, most likely in the second round where the best in this class will come off the board.

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