Oakland Raiders: 7-Round 2019 NFL mock draft after Amari Cooper trade

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders speaks with head coach Jon Gruden during a timeout in the NFL International Series game between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium on October 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /

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BATON ROUGE, LA – OCTOBER 13: Jake Fromm #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs throws the ball as Devin White #40 of the LSU Tigers defends during the first half at Tiger Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Round 1, Pick 13 (via Cowboys): Devin White, LB, LSU

It feels like it’s been an issue for the past half-decade at this point (and that’s closer to the truth than it probably should be), but the Oakland Raiders have problems still at the linebacker position. They aren’t as lackluster as they used to be in that regard with some serviceable players, but the trio of Emmauel Lamur, Tahir Whitehead and Marquel Lee still leaves a lot to be desired.

Over the past few years, fans and analysts alike have called for the Raiders to use a premium pick to address these weaknesses, but they’ve done no such thing. Part of that is because they’re high on guys like Lee, but part of it is simply just not making the right decision to make things happen at that position. They need a game-changer in the middle of the defense in a bad way.

Devin White has everything that the Raiders would need to get that game-changer. The LSU product is lightning fast in the middle of the field and, at his best, feels like he’s in on every play. With tremendous athleticism, White’s range is absurd and he can be involved in making plays that he only has business watching from afar if he weren’t a freak athlete.

There are still some things that need refinement in White’s game, particularly as it pertains to play diagnosis and (similarly) not relying so much on his physical gifts and developing more mentally in that regard. Even still, he checks every both as a prospect to think he could be a star in the NFL at linebacker.

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