2019 NFL Mock Draft: Odell Beckham trade throws first round into chaos

The Raiders have been big spenders this offseason as Jon Gruden continues his roster overhaul in his second go-around as the team’s head coach. The biggest news was the Antonio Brown trade, one they were able to pull off without giving up a single one of their coveted four picks in the first 35 selections of the draft – no team has more early draft capital than the Raiders, and the fact that they were able to hang on to all of those picks and still land one of the five best receivers in the NFL is a remarkable coup for new-GM Mike Mayock.

Along with the Brown trade and subsequent contract restructuring, Oakland has also been active in the free-agent market, paying big money for free agents like Trent Brown and LaMarcus Joyner as they look to accelerate the rebuild.

Oakland’s top priority, though, has yet to be addressed. The Raiders still badly need edge-rushing help, and will almost certainly address that need with one, if not two, of their early draft picks in April. They should take the best available edge rusher with the No. 4 pick, and they should come away with a heck of a player.

Kentucky’s Josh Allen has an incredibly high ceiling after producing at a high-rate with the Wildcats despite not having much of a refined technique as a pass rusher. He’s got a devastating speed rush, and with proper coaching to develop an array of counter moves, Allen could easily become one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers.

In a division where they will be forced to play Patrick Mahomes twice a year for the next decade or so, bolstering their pass rush is paramount for them to be competitive. Oakland wasn’t just bad at getting after the quarterback last season, they were dreadful. Their 13 sacks in 2018 finished dead last in the NFL by a wide margin – the next closest team had 30.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Raiders double-dipped on edge rushers with two of their first four picks.