Draft Q&A with Coach Kiffin
The 2008 NFL Draft takes place this Saturday and Sunday, with The Oakland Raiders currently holding the #4 overall selection. On Thursday afternoon, Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin took time out to speak with the media in the press room at the team's Alameda, Calif., facility to discuss the Draft and a few other topics.
Coach Kiffin: With the upcoming draft, obviously with the fourth pick overall there are a number of players who will be sitting there for us to take. More than ever, not in Raider fashion have many trades back happened before, but it is something we are seriously looking at and that stems from the lack of picks and not having a fifth, third or second and that is something we are really looking at and have been in conversation about.
Q: When you look at that fourth pick, you don’t know who will be available to you. In your opinion what is the biggest position of need on this team right now?
Coach Kiffin: I think that’s hard to answer. There are a number of guys we are looking at and the obvious thing is the defensive line, inside guys and outside guys. Securing DT Tommy Kelly. was really big for us, for him to come back. He is still out there rehabbing and he will be ready for training camp. It’s a big position of need for us and there is going to be at least one really good player there when we pick.
Q: Would you be surprised if this draft ended and you had just five picks?
Coach Kiffin: Yeah, I think I would. I think I would be surprised, just because that’s a long time to sit in a room without doing anything.
Q: Would a first and second round choice be sufficient to compensate for the fourth overall pick?
Coach Kiffin: It does but what are those numbers? Is it a late first round and late second round? Then no. But how far back do you have to go in the first round to get that two that will be a quality player, let’s say in the middle of the first and the middle of the second? I don’t see any scenarios that you can do that for a late first round and late second round.
Q: What kind of action have you been getting on the number four pick at this point?
Coach Kiffin: There have been a number of calls and a few serious conversations.
Q: How much do you have to prepare for the draft because you are uncertain of where and when you will be selecting?
Coach Kiffin: Well, I look at it as you don’t do any more work because the way we prepare for it is that you have to evaluate everybody and look at everybody because you never know what is going to happen. Not just that you may trade down but who falls further than people think they [will]. That doesn’t add more work by creating more scenarios, all it does is make you figure out to what extent we will go before we decide ‘hey we will or won't do that.' As far as evaluation of a player, that doesn’t change much.
Q: If you can’t trade down, would you consider trading a pick next year to get in on this year’s second or third round?
Coach Kiffin: Yeah, that is a definite scenario with the question of seeing yourself of not having any extra picks. That’s probably the most likely scenario to happen because we don’t have a bunch of late picks to put together to move up. What probably happens there, if you see us get into the second or third round, it is because we give up something the following year because there is a player sitting there that we feel is so valuable that we are willing to sacrifice a year from now because it gives us a year with a guy.
Q: How is QB JaMarcus Russell. doing with his physical regiment and mentally embracing the playbook?
Coach Kiffin: He is having a phenomenal off-season. He came back 10 or 11 days before we even started and he was with our coaches and with our strength staff before we got back here and he hasn’t missed a thing since. The rest of the guys are really here about 3-4 hours a day and he is here about 5-6 hours a day. He is here first thing in the morning, he has position meetings and then he goes and lifts and then he runs back in to change and goes back out to throw with the guys. By far, he is in the best shape I have seen him, even if you go back to his pro day at college. I know he is really excited about the upcoming season as well.
See more at www.raiders.com
Other Sports News:
Daequan Cook, Dashonte Riley, Demarcus Cousins, Glen Davis, Joakim Noah, Reggie Bush, Kevin Durant.
