The Raiders have a compelling case to trade down in the 2019 NFL Draft.
NBC Sports California's Scott Bair noted Friday that the Silver and Black have far too many positional needs to wait 70 turns between their fourth pick (second round, No. 35 overall) and their fifth (fourth round, No. 106 overall) in this month's draft.
Those needs, however, just might work in their favor. This year's draft is loaded with talent along the defensive line, and the Raiders, who finished last season with just 13 sacks, wouldn't necessarily need to address that area right away.
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“What I would say about the defensive line in general is that in the last 10 years I’d say it is the best defensive line group we’ve seen, both edge rushers and inside guys," Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. "I think when you start talking about the first round of the draft, I think it’s going to be dominated by defensive lineman.”
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Nick Bosa, Quinnen Williams and Josh Allen -- in some order -- are expected to be the first defensive lineman off the board later this month. That still leaves plenty of talent in the interior and on the edge, as players such as Montez Sweat, Rashan Gary and Ed Oliver figure to be available after the Raiders' first selection at No. 4 overall.
Depending on how the draft shakes out ahead of them, the Raiders could be in a position to have their cake and eat it, too. They'll find out their serving size in just under two weeks, when the NFL draft begins April 25 in Nashville, Tenn.