Oakland Raiders: Ranking team’s offensive positional needs this offseason

1. Wide Receiver

Without a doubt, this is the offensive position in the most dire need of some help this offseason. The trade for Martavis Bryant – foolish at the time it was made – looks even more foolish now. Talk about whiffing hard on a guy.

Jordy Nelson finally started to look like Jordy Nelson in the latter stages of the season, after getting healthy, and Marcel Ateman showed some tremendous flashes. He’ll be a big target for Carr going forward, especially down in the red zone. And Seth Roberts was – okay.

But, what the Raiders don’t have and desperately need is a fast receiver who can really stretch the field and be a deep threat. Oakland’s offense lacks that speedster and deep threat that keeps defenses off their toes, since they know most every pass is going to be 20 yards or less. Having somebody who can blow by defensive backs will add a much needed dimension to this offense.

And before you get started – no, Antonio Brown should most definitely not be considered as a trade acquisition, even if the Pittsburgh Steelers were willing to part with him. The last thing a rebuilding team needs is a cancer like that in the locker room.

But, there are a few free agents out there who might be worth a look. They could make a push for guys like Bennie Fowler or Cody Latimer. Or perhaps bigger names like Golden Tate or Michael Floyd. All might fill a need on the roster and be solid components to the offense.

There are also a number of talented wideouts in the draft pool this year, though the needs on the defensive side of the ball are so pressing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Gruden/Mayock brain trust to wait until Day 2 to address the need for a receiver.

To that end, the Raiders could (and should) look to Ohio State’s Parris Campbell or South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel if they’re still there on Day 2. Other field-stretching options might be Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown or Georgia’s Riley Ridley.