How massive NFL draft trades can affect Raiders

Friday changed the course of the April 29-May 1 draft weekend as there were two blockbuster trades that shook up the top 12 picks of the first round.

First, this happened:

Then, this happened:

The result of the madness was this:

The Las Vegas Raiders own the No. 17 pick in the first round. let’s look at how the shake out of the two big Friday trades could impact the Raiders.

Trade up market will be high:
If the Raiders are interested in moving up in the first round (that hasn’t been the style of this regime), they need to know that the price may be steep. Just look at what it took to move up from No. 12 to No. 6 — and the Dolphins are likely not going to be in the quarterback mix. The market has been set.

Quarterbacks will help Raiders:
There is now speculation that the first non-quarterback won’t go off the draft board until the Cincinnati Bengals pick at No. 5. That would push a lot of good players down the board and increase the chance of the Raiders stealing a best-available player-type at No. 17.

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Bad memories:
Like the Dolphins did on Friday, the Raiders traded the No. 3 overall pick in a deal that involved the No. 12 pick in 2013. Yet, the Raiders got a lot less than the Dolphins did.

The Raiders received No. 12 and No. 42 for No. 3. It was terrible value. Yes, I know a quarterback is at play here, but still, it was a terrible deal. In the end, it didn’t work out for either the Raiders or Dolphins. The Dolphins took defensive end Dion Jordan at No. 3 and the Raiders took cornerback D.J. Hayden and offensive lineman Menelik Watson at No. 42. Yuck.