Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie cut his teeth on the Green Bay Packers' front office, which hasn't spent first-round draft picks on a wide receiver since 2002.
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McKenzie could go against that philosophical trend in today's draft by targeting receiver Mike Evans, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport said Thursday on "2014 NFL Draft Kickoff."
"From what I understand is that if McKenzie was waiting on a Calvin Johnson or someone like that in the first round he would take him," Rapoport said on NFL Network. "The belief is that Evans is similar to that category. He's big, he's physical, he can go up and get it. I believe if he was there the Raiders would not think twice about grabbing Mike Evans at No. 5."
At 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, Evans meets the size requirement for the Megatron comparison. Tall receivers can win jump balls and increase the quarterback's margin for error, which will be especially helpful with Matt Schaub at quarterback.
McKenzie could also be targeting a signal-caller in the first round.
According to Rapoport, the Raiders could be aiming for Derek Carr.
No. 5 would seem too early for Carr to go off the board, but if the Raiders trade back from that spot, they might target Carr in the middle portion of the first round.
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