It is officially mock draft season, and in the latest installments, Michigan’s Rashan Gary going to the Oakland Raiders at No. 4 is picking up steam.
With three first round selections this April, the Oakland Raiders have a lot of ammunition to really improve their roster with some rookies in 2019. Their first selection will come at No. 4 overall, where they should focus their efforts on an edge rusher, as they were absolutely terrible at getting after the quarterback last season.
While there are plenty of elite edge rushers in this draft class, it seems like one name keeps popping up to the Raiders at No. 4. That name is Rashan Gary, and explosive defensive end from the University of Michigan, who has the size, and strength to be a dominant player at the next level.
In scouring the internet, and looking at mock drafts this week, Gary’s name kept coming up when looking at the Raiders first selection. Kristopher Knox (Bleacher Report), Charlie Campbell (WalterFootball), Will Brinson (CBS), and Chad Reuter (NFL.com), all had Gary going to the Silver and Black with their top pick.
The Raiders do need an edge rusher, and Gary proved during his time at Michigan that he has a knack for making plays happen behind the line of scrimmage. No. 4 may be a bit high for Gary right now, but if he has a good Pro Day, and Combine, there is a likelihood that he falls within the top five picks this April.
In other mocks, experts were all over the place, and some even had the team trading away the No. 4 overall pick. Last week, it seemed a lot of people were on the Kyler Murray to the Raiders train, but that has cooled a bit over the past week. We have two and a half months to go until Draft day, so expect mocks to dominate the headlines leading into the big weekend.