Oakland Raiders, DeVante Parker Interview Confirmed at Combine
By Chase Ruttig
As the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine unfolds in Indianapolis this week, more and more information about who general manager Reggie McKenzie has interest in will leak out as the Oakland Raiders plan to interview as many prospects as possible to iron out their big board for the 2015 NFL Draft. One of those names was confirmed on Thursday as McKenzie and the Raiders sat down with one of the top receiving prospects while in Indianapolis.
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While at the podium talking to the media on Thursday, Louisville wideout DeVante Parker confirmed that one of the teams he has interviewed with so far this week was Oakland. In fact the Raiders were the first team that came out of Parker’s mouth as McKenzie made sure to interview a player who is one of the names that is in the top level of many draft experts wideout rankings going into the combine.
Parker starred with Teddy Bridgewater with the Cardinals before staying in Louisville for his senior season, seeing his touchdowns drop from 12 to 5 in 2014 as he played only six games after suffering a foot injury, but he was still very dominant in the aerial attack where he registered 855 yards which was nearly his 2013 total in a full schedule with Bridgewater under center.
Parker also confirmed interviews with the Vikings and the Dolphins so far this week, Minnesota being an intriguing landing spot for him as they drafted Bridgewater in the 2014 NFL Draft and could pair the combo back together in the NFL should he fall down the board enough to be available to them.
When asked what teams he had met with, the first one out of the mouth of Louisville WR DeVante Parker was `Oakland.'
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) February 19, 2015
Parker is one of the best and most productive wideouts who has a first round grade from the draft community, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller touting the Louisville prospect as the most athletic wide receiver in this draft class. High praise considering the physical talents who are filling a deep wide receiver group in the 2015 class.
Devante Parker. RT @donnymiller15: who is the most athletic wide receiver this year?
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) February 18, 2015
Oakland will probably not be in the position to draft Parker unless they are extremely high on him, with the fourth pick being a slight reach to select a player who did miss half of his 2014 season at Louisville. What is intriguing about Parker is his work with a top flight quarterback in Bridgewater and his production last season with a much more complicated quarterbacking situation that didn’t hurt the wideout’s numbers. Parker still caught 43 passes in just six games for the Cardinals, just 12 less than during 2013 and his previously documented 855 receiving yards put him on pace top double his production without Bridgewater which is something that has many high on the receiver going into the combine.
If Parker can wow during his testing, particularly in the always analyzed 40 yard dash, there is a good chance he can be a Top 15 pick in a receiver-heavy draft class. Going #4 to Oakland seems unlikely, but McKenzie could be looking for a productive wideout to pair with Derek Carr so you never know where the Raiders general manager will go in the first round.
Stay tuned to Just Blog Baby all week for 24/7 coverage on the events in Indianapolis at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.