Raiders 2019 NFL Draft Rumors: Nick Bosa Could Be Target for OAK to Trade Up

The Oakland Raiders may reportedly look to trade up from the No. 4 slot in the 2019 NFL draft Thursday night with hope of selecting Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Nick Bosa.

"One possibility I heard has been [the Raiders] moving up a couple spots to land Nick Bosa, the top pass rusher in this year's draft," Dan Graziano reported during an appearance on ESPN (via Rotoworld's Evan Silva).

Oakland traded Khalil Mack, the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, to the Chicago Bears last September. It proceeded to rank at the bottom of the league in sacks last season with 13. The New England Patriots and New York Giants tied for the next-lowest sack total in 2018 at 30.

So there's no doubt the Raiders needed to upgrade their pass-rushing arsenal during the offseason.

They failed to add much firepower in that area throughout free agency with defensive end Josh Mauro and linebacker Vontaze Burfict the only edge players added. That puts a greater onus on addressing the key issue in the draft, including the use of the team's first pick Thursday.

Bosa was limited to three appearances for the Buckeyes in 2018 before undergoing season-ending core muscle surgery.

Nick Bosa Highlights

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The 21-year-old Florida native still finished his collegiate career with 17.5 sacks across 29 games for OSU, including four in his injury-shortened 2018 campaign.

John Bosa, the standout defender's father, told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area in February his son was "100 percent healthy," and Nick discussed missing most of his final year at Ohio State.

"It was definitely one of the harder things I've went through in my life, just getting injured in the year that I was getting ready to blow it all out and have a really fun year," he said. "But it's past me now and I have to look forward."

Bosa is a virtual lock to come off the board inside the top five. Whether he lands with the Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets or an edge-rushing-needy team that trades up remains a mystery in the hours leading up to the draft, though.