Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride had an easy decision to make for the Oakland Raiders in the first round of our 2015 NFL mock draft: USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams was still on the board, and Damien didn't waste any time in scooping him up.
2015 NFL mock draft: Jaelen Strong to Oakland Raiders at No. 35
After passing on top receiver prospects in favor of Leonard Williams in Round 1, our Oakland Raiders writer is circling back to the pass-catching arena in the second round of our mock draft.
Most mock drafts, however, have the Raiders targeting a wide receiver with the No. 4 overall pick, and for good reason: Derek Carr needs more weapons if he is going to continue his development. Lucky for Damien, an excellent receiver prospect is still on the board at No. 35 overall, and once again, he scooped said prospect up in record time.
35. Raiders: Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
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Damien: With the Raiders’ first-round pick, Leonard Williams was too good to pass up. But his selection left the Raiders still much in need of a wide receiver. Having Jaelen Strong available at 35 overall is another pick too good to pass up choice. He is good enough to easily have gone in the top 20 picks of this draft after an extremely productive and consistent career at Arizona State that saw him surpass 1,100 yards each of three seasons there with a combined 32 touchdowns.
He has the size at 6-3, 215, has decent speed with a 4.44 40-yard dash and superior leaping ability with a 42-inch vertical leap which was second highest at the combine among receivers. The Raiders make this pick and are very happy with it.
Dan Kadar, SBNation.com: The Raiders were able to ignore a pass catcher in the first round of this mock draft, and things turned out just fine. This is a sensational pick. Strong is a Day 1 starter for Oakland and has a skill set to be a future lead receiver for the Raiders. He’s a dangerous vertical threat who will go up and get the ball in contested catch situations. Strong may not be the quickest or elusive receiver, but he has a big catch radius and really attacks the football.
Dan’s Top 5 players remaining
- 19. Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
- 29. Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
- 30. Paul Dawson, LB, TCU
- 31. Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA
- 32. P.J. Williams, CB, Florida State
Raiders picks
- 1-4: Leonard Williams, DT, USC
- 2-35: Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
We have one more pick coming your way today at 3:00 p.m. ET, when Big Cat Country will make its second selection for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
SB Nation presents: Where Jaelen Strong ranks among receivers in the draft
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