Read More: Michael Bush (RB – OAK), Darren McFadden (RB – OAK), Taiwan Jones (RB – OAK), Oakland Raiders

Many Oakland Raiders fans are excited to see what fourth round pick, Taiwan Jones, will be able to accomplish when he makes his debut in the NFL. The speedy running back out of Eastern Washington is a player that drew a lot of interest from NFL teams leading into the 2011 draft. However, primarily due to the fact that Jones did not play for a division one program, he slipped all of the way into the fourth round where the Raiders could afford to take him despite having a double headed monster in the backfield with Darren McFadden and potential free agent Michael Bush.

Now, according to Adam Caplan of Fox Sports, it looks as though the Raiders may have another sleeper pick destined to be successful in the NFL. In his offseason analysis of the Oakland Raiders, Caplan noted that the Raiders’ fifth round pick, Denarious Moore was a guy that some had placed a third round grade on.

Moore, a wide receiver out of the University of Tennessee, is another speedster that would appear to fit the Raider mold. However, unlike some of the speedsters that the Raiders have drafted in the past, it appears that Moore also has some good hands.

Moore had an outstanding senior season with Tennessee, catching 47 passes for 981 yards and 9 touchdowns while putting up one of the best yards per catch numbers in college football at 20.9 yards per catch. Considering Moore put up a 4.43 40 time at the NFL combine, it would appear that he has the rare ability to combine blazing speed with quality production.

While Moore is unlikely to see a ton of playing time in his rookie season, the Raiders do need depth at the wide receiver position and Moore could wind up being on of the long term answers for the Raiders if he is able to catch on to the NFL game.

That’s all for now, but until next time, don’t forget, for some of the best up to date Raiders coverage, check out Silver and Black Pride.

The Oakland Raiders have often been the butt of jokes regarding their moves back and forth between Oakland and Los Angeles. Well, it might be time to dust off some of those jokes again. AEG President Tim Leiweke told the OC Register that AEG has been in contact with several teams, including the Oakland Raiders about potentially moving into the Los Angeles football stadium (tentatively called Farmer’s Field) that is currently in the works. The other teams discussed were the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

In discussing AEG’s plans, Leiweke said that Philip Anschutz is prepared to acquire a majority stake in a franchise to bring a team to Los Angeles. Additionally, AEG is prepared to pay the cost for an NFL franchise to get out of their current lease to move to LA.

There is a lot that needs to be done to move a franchise anywhere, but these are certainly big first steps. The potential involvement of the Raiders is interesting to consider particularly the unlikeliness of Al Davis being willing to sell his stake in the team. Of course, the article does’t say Anschutz has to own the team so it remains to be seen how necessary that might be to get a team to LA.

Head over to Silver and Black Pride to join the discussion about this developing story.

By Jerry McDonald
Oakland Tribune