Trade rumors swirl, Raiders stand pat Thursday

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April 28, 2011RAIDERS PAGERAIDERS VIDEONFL DRAFT-TRACKER: RAIDERS
NFL PAGEPaul Gutierrez
CSNCalifornia.com

ALAMEDA - The morning began with rumors of the Raiders trading up into the first round to draft UNR's Colin Kaepernick as their quarterback of the future.The afternoon started with stories of the Raiders instead trading up into the first round to select Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith to replace Nnamdi Asomugha.Instead, Oakland stood pat.Without a first-round draft pick for the first time since 1989 - Oakland traded this year's first-rounder to New England for defensive lineman Richard Seymour on the eve of the 2009 season - the Raiders are scheduled to pick 16th on Friday, No. 48 overall. They should go on the clock at about 5 p.m. PT.That's not to say the Raiders did not entertain thoughts, or offers, of moving up."There was so much phone-calling going on in that room like you wouldn't believe," said first-year coach Hue Jackson. "There were a lot of opportunities but nothing that really fit for us, for exactly what we wanted to accomplish. Obviously, the player has to be there when you want to trade with somebody.
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"I think a lot of people wanted to get out of the first round. It's a different type of draft, obviously, because of what's been going on (with the work stoppage), so I think a lot of teams wanted to make sure that (the) value of a player was very important."The Raiders, coming off an 8-8 season, their best finish since the 2002 Super Bowl campaign, are in a situation where they can draft for need, rather than simply take the best player available.As such, the Raiders have immediate needs at offensive line and in the secondary. And they are still rumored to be interested in Kaepernick. Smith, meanwhile, was selected No. 26 overall by Baltimore.The player many draft observers have long seen the Raiders taking with their first pick is Penn State offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski, nephew of former Raiders offensive guard standout and new Raiders offensive line assistant Steve Wisniewski.
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Coincidentally, the elder Wisniewski was drafted No. 29 overall, the first pick of the second round, by Dallas in 1989. Yes, the last time Oakland did not have a first-rounder before the Raiders immediately acquired his rights.Jackson said he was confident the player, or players, the Raiders have on their radar would be available when they pick."There's still a lot of good players on that board, a lot of guys that we evaluated and are sitting there for us," he said. "This is a process. It can change. You can wake up in the morning and after our first pick, the whole board can go upside down or it can stay consistent and just keep on flowing."Tomorrow, I have a very good idea of how this is going to unfoldhopefully, there'll be five or six guys hat are there, we'll wrassle with them and figure out who the best guy is to wear Silver and Black."

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