Report: Oakland Raiders to Select D.J. Hayden with the 3rd Overall Pick

According to Jason La Canfora, an NFL Insider for CBS Sports, the Oakland Raiders are considering taking former University of Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden with the third overall pick in tonight's draft.

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How's this for a shocker: Several execs picking early in round 1 believe OAK will take corner DJ Hayden 3rd overall if they keep the pick

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 25, 2013"

La Canfora goes on to say, that the Raiders front office has made it very clear, that they would be willing to trade down in tonight's draft if the opportunity presents itself. Noting that one NFL GM says he believes they will be able to do just that.

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OAK made it clear for weeks they're open to trading down and 1 GM told me he thinks OAK will be able to deal down.

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 25, 2013"

But, if Oakland does get locked into the third overall pick, La Canfora says that Hayden has become one of the hottest names on the Raiders' draft board.

This news definitely comes as a huge surprise, and could possibly stand alone as the biggest piece of draft news we've heard thus far.

Clearly in need of some secondary help, Hayden would serve as an instant upgrade from the first day he arrived in camp. But coming off a life-threatening injury, it's obvious that the Raiders would be taking a huge risk using the third overall pick on this kid.

As Will Carroll, Bleacher Report's lead writer for sports injuries noted, no one can really predict what is going to happen with Hayden's chest injury when he enters the NFL, it's never been seen before. A major blood vessel in his chest was torn, something more often seen in auto accidents than football fields.

Even though Hayden's draft stock has been sky-rocketing over the last few weeks, if the Raiders were to take him at number three, it's safe to say the fan's response would melt Twitter to it's very core.

What do you think? Are the Oakland Raiders really considering taking D.J. Hayden with the third overall pick? Or is this just another smokescreen cast into the air to shake things up before tonight kicks into full gear.