by David Zizmor and Stefani Rebekah Black

ALAMEDA–The Oakland Raiders were one of the few teams in the NFL draft that picked the least amount of players. In the second round the Raiders picked at number four, quarterback Derek Carr out of Fresno State and if that name sounds somewhat familiar that’s because Carr is the younger brother of former number one overall pick David Carr who was with the Houston Texans and is currently a free agent.

David wasn’t able to do that much and it’s hopeful that Carr won’t suffer that same fate for his sake he’s kind of fortunate the Raiders are looking to get someone in the starting role for the future and Carr is a strong candidate for the position maybe for next year after getting some experience.

The Raiders want to give Carr a little bit of time to learn the playbook and get him acclimated to the NFL and maybe Carr will play a few snaps at the end of some games this season but it’s not likely you’ll see a whole lot of Carr outside of the preseason.

Carr is a guy out of Fresno State who is very good and has a good arm with good decision ability and because his brother is in the NFL he knows a lot of the pit falls and hopefully he can avoid them. Is he the quarterback of the future? The Raiders hope so, the abilitiy to be that quarterback is there and the Raiders have to nurture him in the best possible way.

In the third round at number 17 offensive guard Gabe Jackson from Mississippi State was selected, the Raiders are looking to fortify their offensive line, if you remember in free agency the Raiders spent a lot of money on offensive tackles on the right and left side of their lines. They added another piece to the puzzle with the drafting of Jackson.

Jackson is rated one of the best guards out of the draft this year and he’s been called a mauler by scouts and analysts by all reports he should definitely help the Raiders offense. They were really having a tough time protecting the quarterback last season and with all these additions to the offensive line hopefully the Raiders will be a little more stable.

In the fourth round at number seven the Raiders selected defenisve tackle Justin Ellis from Louisiana Tech and at number 16 defenisve back Keith McGill out of Utah. Ellis is just a wide load he reminds you a little bit of Ted Washington. Ellis is not quite as heavy as Washington and Washington might have been listed at 350 pounds but you can bet he was never less than four bills.

Ellis has got good quickness, he is going to hopefully blow up the interior of the offensive line when he comes or at least hold the run game. The Raiders are not drafting someone who sacks the quarterback all that often but Ellis is a guy who definitely is going to be a presence.

McGill is a big cornerback at 6’3 and 230 pounds, he’s very big for a corner, McGill had some off field issues but as some people say that’s just part of being with the Raiders but you have to care about the off field issues these days.

Ellis is big he can hang with a lot of recievers and he’s going to get a technique that’s going to be a little more refined but he’s a good pick for the Raiders and the secondary definitely needed some help. The rest of the Raiders picks were all in the seventh round they traded away all their fifth and sixth picks.

The seventh round picks for Oakland at number four defensive back T.J.Carrie out of Ohio and defensive end Shelby Harris selected at number 20 out of Illinois State.

David Zizmor covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com