NFL teams are built through the draft, but the Raiders will have to think of another way to do it next year. Their war room basically can stay empty for the first two days of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Oakland's 2012 draft outlook
Picks the Raiders have traded away*
» First-round pick: Sent to the Bengals on Tuesday for Carson Palmer, along with a 2013 selection that could become a first-rounder.
» Second-round pick: Traded to Patriots, along with 2011 seventh-round pick (CB Malcolm Williams, TCU), for a third- (T Joseph Barksdale, LSU) and fourth-round choice (RB Taiwan Jones, Eastern Washington) in 2011.
» Third-round pick: Selected QB Terrelle Pryor in supplemental draft.
» Fourth-round pick: Included in trade with Redskins to acquire QB Jason Campbell.
» Seventh-round pick: Traded to Seahawks for LB Aaron Curry, along with a 2013 conditional pick.
*The Raiders could receive compensatory picks after losing Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller and Robert Gallery in free agency
That's because the Raiders have just two picks after giving up next year's first-rounder to the Bengals as part of Tuesday's deal for quarterback Carson Palmer.
When you factor in other recent trades, the Raiders now are without picks in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7. Oakland is looking at just having picks in the fifth and sixth rounds, though they could gain some late-round compensatory picks for the departure of free agents Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller and Robert Gallery.
If you're a Raiders fan, you have to ask yourself if the Palmer deal is worth it, right? Not just because of what actually was given up (a 2013 second-round pick that could become a first-rounder was included, too) but also the position the organization has put itself in as a result of the trade.
The Raiders are good, they're young, and they're up and coming. But can they afford to essentially take a year off from building their roster?
People might remember that former Saints coach Mike Ditka took a similar risk in 1999 with a draft-day trade to snatch running back Ricky Williams. Ditka gave the Redskins eight draft picks -- including all of New Orleans' 1999 selections and its 2000 first- and third-round choices -- to draft Williams fifth overall. It was an audacious move that didn't exactly produce the success Saints fans hoped.
Adding to the skepticism with the Raiders is that they now have given up three draft picks in the last 18 months for quarterbacks: Jason Campbell (through a 2010 trade for a fourth-rounder), Terrelle Pryor (selected in this year's supplemental draft using a third-rounder) and now Palmer.
Perhaps NFL Network's Michael Lombardi is onto something when he questions if even the late Al Davis would have paid a king's ransom for Palmer.
