Oakland Raiders: Three linebackers the team can draft after the first round

The Oakland Raiders clearly need linebacker help, we know this. But does that mean they must use their first round pick on the position? Perhaps not.

We are now a mere five days away from the NFL Draft. For weeks rumors have been swirling about who each team may be looking to draft, with the most attention being payed to the first round.

As for the Oakland Raiders, it seems to be a forgone conclusion in the minds of many that the team will select one of the two highly regarded linebackers, Roquan Smith and Tremaine Edmunds, with their tenth overall pick.

While this is a very realistic scenario, in fact it is the most likely scenario, that does not mean the team necessarily has to take a linebacker at ten. There are plenty of good linebacker prospects that will be available after the initial 32 picks are off the board.

Perhaps the decision to take a linebacker in the first round will indeed be the best route to embark upon, but that does not diminish the fact that there are indeed other options that may put the team in just as good of a position going forward.

Perhaps the team is in love with Josh Jackson. Or maybe their eyes are set on Derwin James. We don’t know.

In any case, here are three linebackers the team could draft after the first round if they elect to go elsewhere in the first.