Raiders May Target Linebacker with Top Pick

The Raiders didn’t use free agency to strengthen their group of inside linebackers, one of the weakest spots on the team.

So, with the April 27 NFL draft fast approaching, many analysts are predicting the Raiders could use their No. 1 selection, the 24th overall, on an inside linebacker to give Oakland a significant upgrade in the middle of the field against opposing running attacks.

Alabama’s Reuben Foster, a 6-foot, 229-pounder, would seem to be an ideal fit as a star performer in perhaps the country’s No. 1 collegiate program. In 2016, he led Alabama with 115 tackles, including 13 for loss. He also had five sacks in a season in which he was selected a first-team All-America player.

He’s been labeled a “vicious hitter with elite play-making range” by Lance Zierlein’s scouting report for NFL.com, and he could be the No. 1 linebacker selected in the first round. So, unless Foster falls on draft day, the Raiders will likely have to look elsewhere for an impact linebacker.

The two next-best linebacker prospects are Zach Cunningham of Vanderbilt and Jarrad Davis of Florida. In the latest roundup of 30 NFL mock drafts compiled by Levi Damien, who covers the Raiders for SB Nation, prognosticators have the Raiders using their top selection on a linebacker 10 times, two more than cornerback, another position of need. Of those 10 linebacker projections, Cunningham is believed to be the Raiders’ target four times, twice as many as Davis or Foster.

Cunningham, at 6-foot-3 and 234 pounds, also was a first-team All-America choice this past season after a team-leading 125 tackles, including 16½ for loss. Zierlein calls him a “play-making machine” and a fierce hitter.

Davis, at 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds, is coming off a leg injury this past season, but was a proven performer as a three-year starter for Florida whose work ethic, intelligence and leadership were valued by Gators coaches, according to Zierlein.