The Oakland Raiders have bolstered the offensive line.
With the No. 15 overall pick, the Silver and Black selected offensive tackle Kolton Miller out of UCLA. At 6'9", 309 pounds, the former Bruin will join an already talented group of players, and learn from some of the best in the business. Not only did the Raiders acquire an offensive lineman, but they also added former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant to the mix via trade.
To discuss Thursday's moves, General Manager Reggie McKenzie met with the media:
McKenzie talked about what it was like in the draft room, as the Raiders waited to pick.
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The Raiders trade their third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Martavis Bryant.
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"It was a lot happening, that's for sure. There were a lot of calls. Moving up, moving back, everybody wanted… It seemed like our pick was pretty favorable. After sorting it through, we just went ahead and pulled the trigger."
He highlighted some of Miller's strong points as an offensive tackle.
"The fact that he's a big man that can move his feet. He's played left tackle and right tackle. He's been an offensive lineman pretty much his whole life. He understands the game. He's an excellent athlete who has great potential, so we feel really good about adding him to the Raider roster."
McKenzie seemed thrilled to add Martavis Bryant to the Raiders wide receiving corps.
"Other than he's scored a lot of touchdowns and gets all the first downs, he's ideal what you're looking for in a receiver. He can play big. He can play fast. He makes plays. We think he can be a dynamic receiver for Derek [Carr]."
He emphasized that there was a lot of thought put into trading back to pick.
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With the 15th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Raiders select UCLA offensive tackle Kolton Miller.
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"This is not a last-minute deal. We've been thinking on this for a while. To make it happen this quick, trading back afforded multiple picks. That's all a part of draft day. When you're able to get some breathing room so to speak and play around with some picks. We just felt like this was a good opportunity to try to upgrade and get better."
McKenzie shared what Miller can do to help the Raiders offensive line right away.
"What Kolton can do is, when you talk about pass protection and staying in front of his guy, that's what he does. I mean he's got the length, he's got the great feet and when you're talking about playing at the second level, pulling. I mean, this guy has a lot of talent and we think if we can get him on scheme and get coach Cabes [Tom Cable] working with him, he's going to flourish."
