Raiders draft prep: OT Steven Baker

Written by Tyler Dickson, Guest Contributor on .

The Raiders have reportedly scheduled a pre-draft workout with OT Steven Baker.  TFDS' Guest Contributor Tyler Dickson has prepared this scouting report on the productive but relatively unknown Baker.  For more of his thoughts on players, as we lead up to the 2012 NFL Draft, on Twitter @Raiderdraftnik

STEVEN BAKER
Offensive Tackle
6'8", 310 lbs
Rocky Mount (Northern Nash HS)


Scouting Report: Size, strength, quickness and mobility consistently complimented a development rate which culminated with a starting and leadership role at the tackle position during senior campaign. 

7 round mock draft, by @SethMurphy4991

Written by Seth Murphy, Guest Contributor on .

UPDATED 4/16/2012: 7th round added!

This article is the work of Seth Murphy, who follows college FB and is a Raiders fan.  These are his projections for all seven rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.

You can follow him on Twitter @SethMurhpy4991 to find out what he thinks about players leading up to the draft later this month.

Look below the Rounds to see who the Raiders may look at as Undrafted Free agent Prospects.

Also, below the UDFA propects, peruse an updated tracker of which players each team is projected to take.

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Raiders try out DE Dave Tollefson

Written by Asher Mathews on .

The Raiders had a tryout with former Giants free agent DE Dave Tollefson, today.  He was once a player on the Raiders practic squad before signing with the Giants active roster in 2007, becoming a member of their formidable defensive line rotation and a sometimes starter when injuries demanded.

If he signs with the Raiders he will fill much the same role - a backup and situational player who can also start.  He is also able to contribute on Special Teams.

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Wheeler's first interview, Jones cut.

Written by Asher Mathews on .

Here are some quick hits about the first team organized activity, yesterday.  The team met at their headquarters, playbooks were distributed and the players met each other.

Wheeler talks about being recruited

Also, Philip Wheeler spoke on a media conference call and said that he partially chose Oakland due to the coaching staff and schemes and partially due to the fans.

TFDS has already talked a bit about the fans roll in bringing Wheeler to Oakland here.  He said that he gained about 2,000 followers from his Oakland visit which helped him make the decision to choose the Raiders, adding, "it showed me how big of a football city this is and how much they paid attention to football instead of going somewhere else. Indianapolis, it was pretty good football city, but the fans, they didn't' get more involved in media, and just showing us how much they care about the game. I always wanted to play in a big football for a legendary team, something like that and that kind of helped me choose Oakland."

Wheeler also said that he had known DC Jason Tarver because he met him when he was transitioning from college to the NFL and he felt comfortable with Tarver.  He said the Raiders will be playing a blitzing scheme and mixing in multiple looks, many of which feature the linebacker and some of which will allow him to blitz which he never did in the Colts' schemes.

Raiders-specific mock draft, by @raiderdraftnik

Written by Tyler Dickson, Guest Contributor on .

2012 Raiders-Specific mock draft, by @raiderdraftnik

This article is the work of Tyler Dickson, who is an avid follower of college football and a Raiders fan.  You can follow him on Twitter
@raiderdraftnik for his thoughts on players as we lead up to the draft.

This is a Raider-Specific mock draft but for a 3 round mock draft from Tyler that shows the players selected before the Raiders get to their first pick, click here.

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Team activities start today

Written by Asher Mathews on .

Today the Raiders meet for the first time as a team since the season ended after week 17 last December.

The Raiders are one of the teams afforded the opportunity to meet this early because they have a new head coach in Dennis Allen.  The first meetings are when the coach explains to the players as a group how he will be running the team and starting to set expectations.

The offense will also be given OC Gregg Knapp's playbook to begin studying and learning the plays.  Raiders QB Carson Palmer has said in interviews that he has been studying Houston's offense from last season in order to learn how Knapp likes the offense to be run.

Raider Nation likely influential in bringing Wheeler to Oakland

Written by Asher Mathews on .

There is no concrete proof that Philip Wheeler became a Raider with a big assist from the Raider Nation, but there are little pieces that indicate that tweets from Raiders fans helped.

Wheeler mentioned on Twitter that he was headed to Oakland to meet with the Raiders.  It was the first team he actually mentioned on Twitter although he had met with the Dolphins 5 days before.

What followed was most likely a torrent of recruiting from the Raiders fans themselves via Twitter.  The torrent of support and Silver-and-Black pride certainly had an effect on Wheeler.

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