The Oakland Raiders picked WR David Ausberry out of USC with the 241st overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Ausberry is a big target at 6’2″, 241 pounds so the Raiders might consider moving him to TE or FB down the road.  He caught 20 passes for 252 yards (12.6 avg) last year for USC.  In his four years with the Trojans, Ausberry caught 64 passes for 700 yards (10.9 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Ausberry will be longshot to make the Raiders’ roster in 2011.

The Raiders took TE Richard Gordon out of Miami (FL) with the 181st overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Gordon is 6’4″, 268 pounds and he can run a 4.66 40, so he is a solid athlete.  He has been a tad injury prone (shoulder problems) in college and he wasn’t very productive in the passing game.  He caught 6 passes for 30 yards (5.0 avg) last year for the Hurricanes.  He only caught 10 passes for 62 yards (6.2 avg) in his four years with Miami (FL).  This was a HUGE reach for the Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders picked WR Denarius Moore out of Tennessee with the 148th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Moore is 6’0″, 194 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  Moore is a homerun threat every time the ball is throw in his direction which could make him a perfect fit for the vertical passing game of the Raiders.  Moore played in 13 games for Tennessee last year and he caught 47 passes for 981 yards (20.9 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He caught 112 passes for 2004 yards (17.9 avg) with 18 TD grabs in his four years with the Volunteers.  This might turn out to be a really good pick for the Raiders.

The Raiders took RB Taiwan Jones out of Eastern Washington with the 125th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Jones is 6’0″, 194 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  Jones started his career at Eastern Washington as a corner but in 2009 he converted to RB.  Jones’ game is speed as he’s solid running to the edges or catching passes out of the backfield.  He is also a decent kickoff returner.  Jones played in 12 games (10 starts) for Eastern Washington last year and he carried the ball 221 times for 1,742 yards (7.9 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He also caught 24 passes for 342 yards (14.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Jones played in 24 games (19 starts) in his two years at RB for Eastern Washington and he carried the ball 383 times for 2,955 yards (7.7 ypc) with 29 TD carried.  He also caught 64 passes for 895 yards (14.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs at Eastern Washington.  Jones returned 50 kickoffs for 1,134 yards (22.7 avg) in his career at Eastern Washington.  This was another classic Al Davis-type pick as Jones has the speed he craves.  Jones will likely have a bigger role on special teams than he will on offense early on in his career with the Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders have picked 23-year old cornerback Chimdi Chekwa out of Ohio State with the 113th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Chekwa is 6’0, 191 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Al Davis loves speed and Chekwa has more than enough of that to burn.  Chekwa is a willing tackler but he sometimes plays on his heels letting the action come to him.  The Raiders think they can coach up Chekwa.  He will be able to help the team immediately on special teams.  Chekwa played in 13 games (all starts) for Ohio State last year and he had 42 tackles, he broke up 9 passes, had 3 interceptions and he forced 2 fumbles.  Chekwa played in 52 games (38 starts) in his four years with the Buckeyes and he had 145 tackles, broke up 29 passes, had 6 interceptions and he forced 2 fumbles.