Fourth Round
Lee Smith restructured his deal a few weeks ago so he could still keep playing for the Raiders. The problem is that he’ll be a free agent in 2018. While he could come back to the Silver and Black, it might be time for the Raiders to use a day two selection on a tight end in the 2018 NFL Draft.
A sneaky good pick might be to take Adam Breneman of the UMass Minutemen. He will be a redshirt senior this fall in Amherst. Last season, Breneman was a John Mackey Award semifinalist. He has already graduated and transferred from Penn State. Breneman already has 85 career receptions for 994 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Fifth Round
Oakland might already have two outstanding guards in Kelechi Osemele and Gabe Jackson, but the Raiders might be able to draft a two-time All-American in the latter part of the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. That is assuming Washington State guard Cody O’Connell falls that far and earns his second All-American honors before exhausting his collegiate eligibility.
O’Connell redshirted as a freshman in 2013. He didn’t play as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and only appeared on kicking plays as a redshirt sophomore in 2015. So it was only natural that the 6-foot-8, 354-pound guard would be an All-American in his first year as a starter? With that kind of size and upside, what’s not to love about him playing for the Raiders?