Oakland Raiders: Potential Upgrades At Every Position

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Cornerbacks: Projected Starters – DJ Hayden, TJ Carrie

The Raiders have a lot of potential between Hayden and Carrie. Hayden was Reggie’s first round pick a few years ago, he has a very high celling, but has been slowed down by injuries. Carrie was a 7th round steal in last year’s draft, proving to be a solid special teams player and is developing into a solid corner as well. If they are both able to stay healthy, they should show incredible improvement from last season.

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With the help of the new strength and conditioning coaches, and upgraded workout facilities that Del Rio has brought to the organization, I’m hopeful they will both be able to stay healthy. The question remains, is there a need for an upgrade? I personally don’t think so, added depth for competition would be great, but the need for an upgrade at this position is so far down on the list I highly doubt they’ll prioritize it.

There are a few bigger name corner coming up who could be upgrades, like Brandon Flowers, but I don’t see Reggie spending much money on this position because of the potential that is already there. A name to look for though is Byron Maxwell, from Seattle’s dominant secondary.

Maxwell is the “odd man out” on the Legion of Boom. Maxwell has long been looked at as the weakest link of the starters of the Seattle secondary. Being the worst starter on the best secondary in the NFL means he’s still a pretty darn good corner back. With former Seattle Linebackers Coach, Ken Norton Jr, being recently signed as the Defensive Coordinator for the Raiders, he may have some pull in getting Maxwell to sign with Oakland.

How about the draft? Well, for previously stated reason, I highly doubt the Raiders will be looking at corner back early in the draft, and none of the mid round prospects that I’ve seen would be an improvement to either Hayden or Carrie.

Look for Reggie to find one or two affordable free agents, or a late round pick to add depth to the position.

Next: Offseason Upgrades: Safety

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