Wenthrop King from Colorado asks:
"With the Raiders getting Jimmy Garoppolo, you think they go for defense with the seventh pick and go for a QB in the second round?"
While it's still undetermined what the Raiders will do with their first-round pick, I believe they'll take the best player available, no matter the position.
With the initial question being about defensive players, there are several guys on that side of the ball that stick out to me. For starters, there's two quality cornerbacks that could be Day 1 starters with Oregon's Christian Gonzalez and Illinois' Devon Witherspoon. Gonzalez has blazing speed and athleticism to make plays on receivers while Witherspoon is physical and plays with aggression at the line of scrimmage.
Another great defender that could fall in the lap of the Raiders is edge rusher Tyree Wilson. The 6-foot-6, 271-pound lineman from Texas Tech totaled 14 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss in his last two seasons as a Red Raider, earning second-team AP All-American and first-team All Big-12 selections.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Wilson said he met with the Raiders and told them he believed he could become a nice "1-2 punch" with Maxx Crosby.
Tim Walsh from New Jersey asks:
"Should Raider Nation be confident with this regime's drafting ability?"
When you look at the track record of Dave Ziegler, Raider Nation should be encouraged of what's to come.
In his first season as the Raiders General Manager, Ziegler drafted two productive offensive linemen in Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford Jr. – who are in line to continue making leaps going into their second seasons. Both played in all 17 games as rookie, with Parham starting in all 17 and Munford in four.
Ziegler was the director of player and pro personnel for the New England Patriots for five seasons and in that span, they were able to find some gems in the draft, including Pro Bowler Mac Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Damien Harris, Kyle Duggar, Isaiah Wynn and current Raider Justin Herron.
