Oakland Draft Scenario No. 1

Given the fact I'm an Oakland Raiders fan, I'm writing an article about various scenarios in which we'll be forced to pick a player not necessarily by choice of need but by who is the better of those remaining.

Although I've written articles stating my love for either WR's Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin, we have to take a look at different scenarios in which we won't get either player or Al decides to draft in his eyes the best available player.

In today's and coincidentally the first article in the series, I'll take the look at what happens if Michael Crabtree and Rey Maualuga are both gone and we have to choose between WR Jeremy Maclin and CB Malcolm Jenkins.

Obviously these two players should provide enough arguments as to which to pick.

If the chose came down to these two players and we are going to lose Nnamdi Asomugha then picking up Jenkins would be a no-brainer.

However, would picking up a top CB like this beneficial to the defense? Does more money need to be spent on a CB?

Maclin could be a special teams ace and really provide even better field position opportunities with Justin Miller & Maclin returning kickoffs. I could see kickers just taking the penalty and having us start at the 40 every time.

Maclin also had over 100 catches this year, so he isn't just some special teams ace like Devin Hester. This guy has wheels, but he also has pretty good hands. Think Steve Smith when you think of Jeremy Maclin.

I think I'd prefer Maclin, but it would be hard to deny the defense the opportunity to have another future All Pro. I do remember in the '80s when we had a good defense and two rock-solid CB's in Haynes and Hayes. Those two CB's allowed the defense to blitz at will.

In this choice it's difficult because you can help an area of need, but obviously it doesn't fill a greater need like a DT or offensive lineman.

But do you find the best two players available and then use both to determine need?

I think we need help on offense and scoring points, but if the choice is between Maclin or Jenkins I'd have to take offense because the offense obviously needs a boost too.

In future articles I'll detail other scenarios for which we could draft players like Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Everette Brown, Brian Orakpo, and others.

Please leave comments to let me know how I can improve the story or tell me things you don't like about it.

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