The Raiders have shifted much of their attention to the upcoming draft with free agency winding down.
Fans have plenty of questions about which direction they’ll take once the first round begins April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and whether there are any potential free-agent additions still coming.
Here is a sampling of what arrived in this week’s mailbag:
B (@bdoesitt): Do you think Hunter Renfrow actually comes back, or do they go a different direction at wide receiver?
Vincent Bonsignore: Renfrow, after spending a year out of football healing his body, is looking to return in 2025.
The Raiders’ 2019 fifth-round pick recently visited the team and is expected to meet with more NFL clubs. He may need to wait until after the draft to decide what the best fit is. Teams could circle back if they miss out on their preferred wide receiver targets.
Doc Holliday (@MarkPinnix): Have you heard anything about talks with any free-agent wide receivers?
Bonsignore: The Raiders are monitoring the market, but it doesn’t seem like they’re in a hurry to land anyone.
Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek have had success finding wide receivers in the draft, so there are some prospects they likely have their eyes on.
Lawrence (@Vista_Test2): Is Costa Mesa officially out for training camp consideration?
Bonsignore: Returning to Southern California for training camp does not appear to be an option for the Raiders. The same goes for the team’s former training camp site in Napa.
That means, barring a surprise, the Raiders will train at their practice facility in Henderson.
Jimmy Caribbean (@RobertBuddDwyer): Do you feel they stand pat at (pick) six or trade down?
Bonsignore: Spytek and Carroll won’t pass up a chance to take an impact player just to pick up some extra draft capital, but they’re willing to be flexible and creative.
If they believe they can move down a few spots and still draft a potential standout, they’ll consider it.
Jim Norris (@JimNorrisMT): What’s your opinion on the defense going into this season?
Bonsignore: This should be a solid unit if the defensive line stays healthy.
Raiderspy1 (@DAP7219): What do the Raiders say are their top three roster needs?
Bonsignore: No team will come out and say it, but it’s clear from reading the tea leaves that the Raiders are looking for help at running back, wide receiver and cornerback.
They’re also hoping to add some depth in the trenches and find a potential successor to Geno Smith at quarterback.
Mike (@RaiderMike135): Looking a little further ahead, what do you expect from a Pete Carroll training camp?
Bonsignore: High-energy practices with a lot of competition. And some fun mixed in.
Aaron J. Rodriguez (@AaronJRod): If (quarterback) Shedeur Sanders and (running back) Ashton Jeanty are both available at six, any feeling on which way they Raiders would lean? Or neither?
Bonsignore: It’s a good question, and it all comes down to how the Raiders feel about Sanders’ potential to turn into a franchise quarterback.
It’s impossible to know where they stand right now.
Nick Cupp (@__Nicknameless): How do the Raiders feel about their safeties? It’s a very young, unproven group other than (free-agent addition Jeremy) Chinn. Is there a possibility of this being a focus in the early to mid-rounds?
Bonsignore: The Raiders won’t hesitate to add another safety, but they like this group quite a bit.
Isaiah Pola-Mao looked like a viable starter last year and should play a lot of snaps next to Chinn. Lonnie Johnson, another free-agent signing, also brings a lot of experience.
Chris Haines (@chaines24): Do you feel like they genuinely don’t regret not retaining any of the guys that left? In retrospect, do you think they would have spent a little more on (linebacker) Robert Spillane or (safety) Tre’von Moehrig, for example?
Bonsignore: No one is happy about losing good players in free agency, but the Raiders don’t regret their decisions at this point.
They had enough cap space to retain Spillane and Moehrig if they wanted to. The Raiders determined they were better off bringing in cheaper targets and using their cap space elsewhere.
Tyson Peterson (@TysonPeterson14): Have they looked into adding any other secondary help in free agency or trade, or is it all hands on the draft now?
Bonsignore: The Raiders added Chinn, Johnson and cornerback Eric Stokes in free agency and re-signed Pola-Mao, who they like a lot.
That means they’re looking at the draft at this point for additional secondary players. They already have Jakorian Bennett, Decamerion Richardson, Jack Jones and Darnay Holmes at cornerback and Thomas Harper, who is a player to keep an eye on this offseason, at safety.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
