Oakland Raiders 1st Round Options: 2013 NFL Draft

Feb 22, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland was another team that was really bad last year. McFadden again couldn’t stay healthy for the entire year and when he was healthy wasn’t very effective. The coaching staff changed up their blocking scheme and McFadden never seemed comfortable behind it. They had the 5th least running yards in the entire league. While they had the 8th most passing yards in the league they had the 7th worst scoring offense in the NFL. Oaklands defense was middle of the pack this past year, finishing 15th in yards per game, but they were the 5th worst in points per game. However they released and lost a lot of defensive players in the last few days including Richard Seymour, Michael Huff, Phillip Wheeler and Desmond Bryant. On the bright side Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler were phenomenal as always.

Dec 29, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) warms up prior to the start of the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Syracuse Orange at Yankee Stadium. Syracuse defeated West Virginia 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Geno Smith – Carson Palmer was not terrible last year, but he is getting old now and is due 13 million dollars next year. The Raiders are now under the cap, but they had to release a lot of people to get there. They need a lot of players to put even a semi competitive team on the field. Palmer can’t be in the cards for them for much longer and Pryor hasn’t shown anything to make anyone think he can be their QB of the future. The Raiders have also already been linked to wanting Smith with the 3rd pick in the draft.